Searching for Salvation: Damnation
by Spectacled Man
Summary: The one that was once a He, will now be an It. The one that is now an It, will once again be a He. Yet, what once was and what once will be, differ. This is the story of the travels of what once was, what one is and what once will be. Follow It, to its peril. Tags: Game System. Fantasy World. Psychological Horror.
1. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, a new story. I know.

But worry not my dear little minions this is a somewhat pre-written and I am publishing it so that I can edit the rest of the chapters and compete it.

Enjoy!

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Edit: This story is also posted on Royalroadl by me.

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"Speaking" Speaking

 _'Speaking'_ Thinking

" _Speaking_ _"_ Written/Reading

 _Speaking_ Flashback

* * *

 **DAY 1**

I woke up with a start; my mind slow, muddled and hazy. Turning my head, my eyes were greeted by the vision of an unknown darkness; like the one that had, for a long time, greeted me in my cupboard.

' _Where am I?'_

I did not know the answer to that thought, in fact, I-I… couldn't remember anything at the moment; anything at all. _'Wh-what! W-why!'_

Confusion took over my sanity. _'J-just what is happening!? W-where am I? Wh-who am I?'_

And so did irritation. _'Who is doing this to me!? WHO?!'_

I tried moving around but, for some reason, all I could do was squirm. I felt confined and restricted, as if I had been rolled in some kind of fleshy meatball and then thrust into some sort of container.

I wiggled around and fidgeted; trying my uttermost to free myself and, in case that wasn't possible, to try to understand the limits of my prison; for that is what it felt like, a prison. I felt the walls -which restricted me- expand, like jello, before they retained their shape with equal fervor.

Hope smiled down on me. _'There is potential here; potential to break free.'_ I smiled grimly; I could break out of my prison after all.

I squirmed, ferociously, and tried to use my hands and legs but, for some reason, instead of 4 limbs, multiple limbs moved. I frowned. _'Just what is going on? Just wha-?'_

I stopped my struggles and tried to remember the last thing before I woke up. It was …it was …hazy and confusing. It gave me a headache just by trying to think about it. But something was very wrong here. I could feel not just my hands and legs but multiple other limbs protruding from my body; limbs that I should not have. _'Something is wrong. Very, very wrong.'_

Through the haze and confusion, I tried to force myself to remember, but all I got was more and more pain. Panic began to set in me, no matter how I tried to fight it off. _'Has someone tempered with my memory?! Have I been attacked?! Where am I?! Why was I restricted?! What is going on?! W-what! Why!? How!?'_

I tried to remember again but failed as pain assaulted me and consumed my senses. But I couldn't give up. No, I needed to know; I just needed to!

I continued trying but kept failing again and again and again, that is, until something finally came through. I remembered choking on air, being unable to breathe; pain exploding in my ears as they popped and blood trickling down my face.

' _I died.'_ My memory cleared. _'Poison. Poison was what got me finally.'_

' _I died.'_

Sadness crept up on me - _'I died'-_ and, slowly, I became - _'I died'-_ overwhelmed with grief. _'I died.'_ I had lost all my friends. _'I died.'_ My family. _'I died.'_ My newly wedded wife. _'I di-'_

 _Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!_

A sharp pain hit me at the thought of my wife, as if, as if my brain was reminding me of something, something that I didn't want to remember. I pushed my grief aside, no matter how hard it was, and tried to remember. _'Was my wife dead too?! Oh dear Merlin, please don't let her be dead! Let her live! She didn't deserve to die! Not for the life that I have lived! Please! Please...'_

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

I tried again and again and, finally, I remembered.

A smirk. A self satisfied smirk.

Confusion filled me. 'Wha-!?Wh-?! Ho-!?'

And then Rage hit me, - _'she killed me'_ -at that moment - _'she killed me'_ -like a rampaging bull. 'S _he killed me.'_

'S _he killed me.'_

'S _he killed me.'_

'S _he killed me!'_

'S _he killed me!'_

'S _he killed me!'_

' _SHE KILLED ME!'_

I struggled in my prison. 'S _he killed me!'_ I wiggled and I squirmed and I struggled with all my might. 'S _he killed me!'_ I channeled my rage into freeing myself. 'S _he killed me!'_ I had to. 'S _he killed me!'_ I just had to. _'SHE KILLED ME!'_

Coldness hit my head with a rush of air. This was my chance, my chance to be free. I struggled and thrashed and pressed at the opening, to expand it, and finally I pushed myself through it. _'I am free. Finally fucking free.'_

But all of my excitement, my joy and my happiness turned sour at the sight that greeted me in my freedom. And what a fucking sight it was.

In front of me, lay huge balls, almost the same size as me. And out of many of them, _things_ were crawling out. Green and black and elongated things.

' _Insects.'_ My mind supplied before it corrected itself. _'No, not insects. Caterpillars.'_

Horror descended on me as I looked around.

Eggs. Eggs. And more eggs. _'Those round balls are eggs! They aren't prisons! They are eggs!'_

And I was surrounded by them! Wherever my eyes looked, the sea of eggs stretched! And out of most of them, things were coming out; things that were caterpillars.

My mind told me to look down, to look at myself. But my heart didn't want to, for it was afraid. No, it wasn't my heart, it was me. I was afraid; afraid of what I'd find.

Before I could do anything about my fear, something primal hit me and took over me and my mind. It was all I could think about as it overwhelmed me. It forced me to look down, look at what was beneath my body.

Hunger had overcome me and it was forcing me to eat whatever it was that was beneath my body.

But as I looked down, I saw what I had become.

No, not me; my body.

What my body had become. It was green and black and elongated like all the other things crawling around me. _'I-I a-am a c-ca-caterpillar!'_ My mind supplied as it began to shut down.

I couldn't think. I couldn't feel. I couldn't imagine what had become of me. _Caterpillar! Insect!_ Insect was what I had become! ' _H-how! Wh-what! Wh-why!_ '

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

…

…

…

!

!

!

Eh!

What!

What the unholy fuck!

My mind broke out of the stupor, that it had spiraled into, and I looked down at what I was doing. Somehow, when I mind had stopped working, the baser instincts of my new body - _'Uggh!'-_ had taken over and had devoured whatever it was that had been beneath my body.

I looked around. A long stalk stretched up from beneath me. It seemed I had moved from my original position. There were other caterpillars around me. _'My siblings. Ugghh.'_ And they were all devouring the green thing beneath them. _'Did insects even have the concept of siblings?'_

Leaves. Of course it was leaves. Caterpillars consume leaves. That must have been what I had eaten too. And judging from the change in height, I must have eaten quite a few.

B-but, but, but what was that noise and that blue screen? It had said that I had leveled up. What did that mean? What was level? How had I leveled up? ' _How! What! And just fucking how?!'_

Hunger overcame me again and I bent down to eat the leaf that I was hanging on but my mind continued to spiral, work and think. _'Something is wrong here, something besides me being a caterpillar.''_

As my mind continued to think, my mouth continued to eat. From one leaf to another I moved. Eating, consuming and devouring. On and on I ate but my hunger never grew dim. It was never sated.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

I paused, both eating and thinking.

There it was again; the noise and the blue screen that was already fading away. What was this? It seemed like a notification from those videogames that Terry had always talked about; the same ones that he had been able to show me only after we had won the war. But it couldn't be that. That would be stupid. So, so stupid.

Life was not a game; especially not a video game.

But, for the life of me, I couldn't think of any other explanation. Feeling incredibly stupid, I decided to give it a try. _'Wha-what was it called? Class? No. Rank? No, not that either. Status wa-'_

Ting.

 **[Unnamed] [Skills] [Spells] [?]**

I gaped and I continued to gape for a while, not believing the ultimate bullshit floating in front of my eyes. _'Ho-How? Just how is this possible?!'_ Such was the shock that I had received that I even forgot my hunger.

' _What in the world!'_ I gawked at the blue screen, which, by the way, was floating on its own in front of me. _'It worked! It actually worked! I don't believe it! I fucking don't believe this cluster fuck!'_

But being a caterpillar, that I was, hunger made itself known by the way of immense burn that was raging in my belly. And dutifully, like a meek little servant, I began to eat. I hated that something else, than my mind, no matter how primal, had control over me but, at the moment, I had bigger fish to fry.

So I ate and munched and ate like there was no tomorrow; which -considering that I was a caterpillar- might actually be very true. As I chomped on the tasteless leaves, I focused on the one option that had disturbed me the most; the option, **[Unnamed]**. No sooner had I focused on the option, that the floating blue list changed.

Ting.

 **[** **Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Caterpillar]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 3]**

 **[HP: 8/8]**

 **[MP: -]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Hungry}** **]**

I made a face in confusion. _'That makes no sense.'_

I had never played those games that Terry had kept on talking about, as I had more important things to worry about; things like trying to survive Hogwarts for instance or finding out what new trouble Malfoy was planning to cause.

Of all the things written on the floating blue screen, one caught my eye, **{Reincarnated};** I focused on it and another blue screen popped up.

Ting.

 **[Title {Reincarnated} allows memories and experience of previous birth to be transferred to the new body.]**

' _Well, that explains it.'_ I sighed. _'But what reincarnated me? Or who? And why?'_

I shook my head. _'Focus. Focus. Focus.'_ I told myself before squinting and focusing on **[** **Name: Unnamed]**. Just like before, another box popped up.

Ting.

 **[Names can be bestowed either by your sire or your master. You are an unnamed creature.]**

I made a face. _'I couldn't name myself? What sort of absurd rule is that? What is its purpose? Why can't I name myself?'_ This made no sense. And also, this was, by far, one of the most idiotic rules that I have ever encountered in my life and I have lived through the rules that Umbridge had imposed.

Stupid Blue Screen.

Focusing on returning to the previous screen, I moved to another leaf; I had devoured my current one in its entirety. The current screen closed and the previous one popped up. I focused on **[Species: Caterpillar].**

Ting.

 **[Species is the current form of your body. You are a Caterpillar.]**

' _Huh. Brief.'_ I moved onto the next option, **[Race(s): Insect].**

Ting.

 **[Race allows for different evolution pathways to manifest. Current evolution path available: Insect.]**

' _Wait, what?'_ This was getting more and more ridiculous. _'What is evolution?'_ I focused on the word.

Ting.

 **[Every monster has the ability to evolve. Evolution is the ability to change one's species, to a more powerful one, when one reaches Level 100.]**

' _This is such a bullshit system!'_ I thought, for what felt like the hundredth time, before focusing on the word **Level**. I did not know what it was.

Ting.

 **[Level is the relative power level compared to one's first evolution form. You need experience to Level up.]***

I focused on the word **Experience.** I did not know what that was either. This was kinda making me feel stupid. And angry.

Ting.

 **[In the world of Kill or be Killed, Experience is what you gain by killing other living beings.]***

' _Well, that was clear.'_ I huffed but moved onto the next option nonetheless, **[HP: 8/8].**

Ting.

 **[Health Points is the maximum damage you can take. Zero HP results in death. Current HP: 8/8]**

I frowned and focused on **[MP: -]** next.

Ting.

 **[Mana Points is the maximum mana available to cast magic spells. Your species doesn't allow usage of Mana.]**

' _Buuuuuuuuullllllllllsssshhhhhhiiiiiiiiitttttttt! I call Bullshit!'_ I scowled. _'I was a wizard in my previous birth, how can I not have magic?! Magic has nothing to do with anybody's body! It has everything to do with one's soul! I was reincarnated! I have my soul! Give me my magic, dammit!'_

I ranted. I ranted for a while as I continued to eat. But, as I had expected, it did not have any effect. So tired of my mental ranting, I moved onto next option, [ **Titles].**

Ting.

 **[Title is a label awarded by the Will of the World, to the living beings, for performing specific tasks or for meeting certain specifications.]**

That explained the **{Reincarnated}** title. I focused on the next one, **{Sentient}**.

Ting.

 **[Title {Sentient} grants standard Intelligence and Wisdom.]**

I frowned at the capital letter for both intelligence and wisdom and focused on **Intelligence**. A red screen popped up this time.

 **TRAAAAAAANG!**

 **[SPECIAL attributes are blocked for monster races. Access Denied.]**

I scowled. _'What the Hell!'_ I tried to focus on Wisdom with the same result. Grumbling at the stupidity of this Will of the World, I moved to the last Title, **{Hungry}.**

Ting.

 **[Species only title; forces the creature to eat continuously. It also allows the creature to gain experience from the act of eating.]**

' _What does that mean? Does that mean it will be removed when I evolve?'_ I frowned for a moment before moving on; there was nothing I could do about it anyway.

With another thought, I focused on going back to the initial screen and when it appeared, I focused on skills.

Ting.

 **[{Crawl Lv.1}]**

 **[Ability to crawl on your body.]**

 **[{Molting Lv.1}]**

 **[Ability to shed the exoskeleton/skin and come out as new. Cost depends on the size of being.]**

 **[{Poison Resistance Lv.5}]**

 **[Ability to reduce the effect of poison and delay being poisoned; it develops sub-resistances for different types of poisons.]**

 **[Weak-Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. Max]**

 **[Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 1]**

 **[{Poison Creation Lv.1}]**

 **[Allows creation of poison and at Level N, allows N poisons to be created that have Maxed out sub-resistances.]**

 **[Available: Weak Bug Poison]**

I frowned again. All the rest of my skills started from Level 1 but my poison resistance skill was starting from Level 5. I focused on it.

Ting.

 **[Ability to delay being poisoned; it develops sub-resistances for different types of poisons. Due to the Title {Reincarnated}, the skill takes into account previous births.]**

I scowled as I remembered the Basilisk and that I had been poisoned by my dear wife. I knew there was nothing I could do now. I was dead. At least in my world. Trying to suppress the anger and rage, I stopped eating and took a deep breath in, before exhaling. It helped. I resumed eating.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Startled, I checked my status, and sure enough my Level read **[Level: 4]** and my HP read as **[HP: 9/9]**. Giddy for the moment, I turned to the second last option, **[Spells]** and focused on it.

Ting.

 **[Your species doesn't allow usage of Mana. No spells allowed.]**

Once again scowling, I turned to the last option, the most ominous one, **[?]**.

A golden screen popped up this time.

Ting.

 **[? #%^# &*+/ %!$&* $ & &$%& $^!*!%$#& ? ?#?%?#?]**

 **[? ?: 100]**

 **[! #$: 100 * &^%: 100 ^%$#: 100 & % : 100 & %^:100]**

' _What the hell!'_ I gawked. I did not understand anything. And what was with all the numbers! How was I supposed to understand it?

Fuming, I tentatively focused on the second line and another golden screen popped up.

Ting.

 **[ %$* ^$!*$ ?#/ #?$$$#?#$%##?#$ ?#$#?$?#$##]**

' _Fuck you too.'_

I focused on the first option in the third line, expecting the same result as the last time, so of course, that did not happen. All of a sudden, the number in the second line went to zero.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv.1} acquired.]**

' _Wh-what!'_ I gaped _. 'I did not buy anything! I do not want to buy anything! Take it back! Take it back!'_

But of course, it wasn't taken back. So I focused on it to know whatever it was that I had apparently bought.

Ting.

 **[Gives details of the target.]**

' _How very detailed.'_ I sighed. It made two things very clear though; first, that the last option was a skill market of some kind. And second, that I should remain clear of it until I have an idea of what was actually written there.

Still, I got lucky this time. I could have bought some useless skill with those 100 points, instead of **{Observe Lv.1}**. I decided to try it. _'Observe.'_ I mentally whispered but a red screen popped up as soon as I finished thinking.

 **TRAAAAAANG!**

 **[No Mana detected. Skill cannot be used.]**

' _What the fuuuuck!'_ I fumed. I fumed for a while before I stopped and took another deep breath. It helped. I returned to eating. My mood sour, after all the bad news.

* * *

 **DAY 2**

I woke up. Not because the shining rays of sun had hit me softly, creating a perfect scene, no, none of that bullshit. I woke up because, after the amount of leaves I had eaten, I had to shit; I had to shit a lot.

With that bit of unpleasantness done, I resumed eating; it was not like I could do anything else.

Though there were two things that I had achieved yesterday. First was that my skill, **{Crawl}** , hit Level 3 and became **{Crawl Lv.3}**. And second, was that I had hit Level 15, with my HP reading **[HP: 20/20]**.

I smiled slightly. If I continued on leveling like that, soon I would evolve.

And while that was happening -because believe me, there was not a lot to do when chewing leaves- I had counted the number of leaves it took me to reach next level -I really, really, had nothing better to do- and while initially, it had been 7 leaves per level, but as my level grew higher and higher, the number of leaves required to level up, increased.

Now that I was on level 15, I estimated it would take me 10 leaves to level up. So I chomped and chomped and chomped.

And while I was chomping, I sensed a disturbance. I stopped eating and looked around; trying to find the source of disturbance.

Screeeeech!

I turned to face the sound. It was a bird of some sort, coming down faster and faster, aiming at the plant that I had been devouring. It was, obviously, aiming for breakfast.

I knew I was not fast enough to crawl away from the creature, no matter how much my crawl speed had increased due to the skill's new level. And that bird, that _creature_ , was honing in on us, our plant, faster and faster.

I panicked. My tiny little caterpillar brain couldn't think of anything beyond the approaching death that would soon descend upon us. I felt my heart race miles a minute and I felt my body shiver in fear in horror.

My death was near, that was all that my instincts screamed at me; overwhelming me with the desire to flee because they knew, because I knew, there was no option to fight.

Seeing no other option but to flee, I let go of the leaf, which I had been hanging on, and felt myself fall. Air rushed by me for a moment before I hit the ground with a _thump_.

Ting.

 **[-5 HP]**

I shook myself, trying to shake off the shock of the fall.

I winced.

That hurt; that hurt a lot but it successfully broke me out of my instinct induced panic. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt a lot, no, it hurt like a motherfucking bitch.

Clamping down on the pain, I turned around to see where my body had hit the ground, and sure enough, my soft bulging body looked bruised and pulped. I swallowed. _'That had been a bad idea. A very bad idea.'_

I turned back to watch the plant, which had been my home and source of food for the past day, and saw the bird… _thingy…creature_ chomp down on the rest of my brethren with little mercy. It was devouring every caterpillar in sight. It was nothing but a massacre. I shivered.

' _Kill Or Be Killed.'_ I remembered the blue screen had said.

Having noticed the situation, I turned around, unable to watch the carnage and tried to find someplace to hide from the eyes of the vicious thing decimating the population of caterpillars. My eyes fell on a pile of dead leaves that cast a shade beneath them, far away from the prying eyes.

I tried to crawl towards the shade but the pain that erupted in my body felt like lightning racing through my body.

I bit back the scream that wanted to leave my jaws; this was not the time.

Forcing my tiny limbs to support me, I lifted my body. But that little effort left me breathing hard and gasping. Still, I pushed myself. If I faltered now, I would turn into birdfeed. Literally. And I had no intention of doing so.

The jolt of red hot pain, which ran through my body, had my tiny legs refusing to move but I had no other choice. It wasn't a choice of life and death.

It wasn't a choice at all for I refused to die again. I will not die; not here; not at the hands some random bird.

I crawled forward, barely making it. My body almost refused to move again but somehow I made it through. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I had no choice. I crawled again and, again a bolt of screaming pain pulsed through me. I bit down on the flesh of my mouth and tasted blood.

Ting.

 **[-1HP]**

 **[Skill acquired {Pain Resistance Lv.1}. Your pain tolerance has increased.]**

I heard the chime and felt the pain, from my wound, decrease just a tinge but I ignored the pain and the screens; I did not have time for this silliness at the moment.

Breathing in a shaky breath, I pushed myself towards the shade. I moved, just a tinge and my breath escaped me with the soaring pain. I took in another breath and tried again. I moved and I pushed myself again, not wanting to let the breadth escape me this time.

Ting.

 **[-1HP]**

The pain hit me again and again as bolts of it soared through my body. It reminded me what a stupid decision it had been to fall from the height in the soft body of a caterpillar, but then, I turned around to look back at the plant. And the half vanished population of caterpillars told me that though stupid, it had been the right decision.

Ting.

 **[-1HP]**

I winced and pushed myself through the hurt and the blinding pain; somehow I managed to reach the shade beneath the pile of leaves. I took in a deep but shaky breath.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv.1} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv.2}. Your Pain has tolerance increased.]**

Ignoring the screens, I turned back to look at the plant. The population of caterpillars was dangerously low now. Soon the bird would come down, looking for any that fell and were left. I could not let the bird find me. I cannot let it eat me. I cannot let it kill me.

No. I refused.

I refused to die.

Taking another deep breath, I shoved my head into the soft ground and bit as much dirt as I could. I pulled back and spat the dirt out and shoved my face again into the dirt. I could not use my legs or my other limbs; they were short and stubby and useless in this situation.

I repeated the process again and again and again. All the while, I thanked the gods that a caterpillar's mouth was much larger compared to its body than a humans. I cannot imagine doing the same thing with my original body.

Soon the hole was large enough for my tiny body to fill it in and through the pain and hurt I, somehow, managed to shove myself in, with my mouth down the hole and my ass facing the world.

Ting.

 **[-1HP]**

I was tired, so very tired. And hurt. But I could not give up, not yet. I was still vulnerable and had no way to hide my ass. I was out of my wits and there seemed to be no way to hide myself completely.

I felt the disturbance, once again, just like when the predatory bird had attacked my plant.

Thump. Thump.

I felt the soft landing of supple feet and knew, I just knew, that the bird had come looking for the ones that fell. Fear finally got its clutches on me, and my heart, which had been already racing on pain and hurt, now was fed fear; it raced, faster. I even felt my bowels move in fear.

And then it hit me. Shit. The answer was shit.

Yesterday, and today, I had eaten so much that I was bulging with shit even though I had already shat once. So I shat. Through pain, fear and hurt I shat. I shat all over my ass and tried to cover my hideout with it, as much as I can. I wiggled and squirmed, shaking the mounds of shit and letting it spread.

I knew I was covered in shit –rolling in it, even- but, at the moment, I could not begin to care. My survival depended on that mound of shit.

Thump. Thump.

The bird moved and I felt the distance between us decrease. My breadth hitched and my heart felt like it would run out of my body.

Thump. Thump.

The claws came closer and I shut my eyes. I tried remembering if there was anything in my skill list that could help me right now. I tried and forced my brain to remember. _**'[Poison Creation].**_ _'_ I remembered and activated the skill without a second thought.

I felt the hairs on my body become wet with the poison secreting from the pores on my body. But I didn't stop, I continued to secrete the poison, without stopping; I hoped to take the bastard down with me, if it ate me.

Tired, I took a deep breath. I had done everything that I could do as a caterpillar, and then some, and if, now, that nasty bird found and ate me, at least, I hoped I would take it down with me. _I_ _smiled in satisfaction_.

Thump. Thump.

I felt the bird come closer and held my breath; I did not want to do anything to alert the nasty thing of my presence.

Thump. Thump.

I could feel the bird standing right over my mound of shit. It paused over the hole and my heart stopped. Would it look past the shit and move on? I hoped it would. I prayed it would, after all, my life depended on it.

Thump. Thump.

The bird passed me over, yet, I held my breath. I did not move. I could not move. I dared not move. At that moment, there was a flutter of wings and the bird flew away.

I remained there, still; not believing that I had survived, that I had lived past that encounter. A shaky breath escaped me and I smiled a watery smile. I had survived.I was alive.

I laughed. _'I survived! I am alive!'_ I laughed and laughed and I gasped. And then I laughed some more.

I gasped again as my heart finally slowed down and the pain that I had been ignoring finally caught up to me. I winced and yet I smiled.

I breathed in a deep breath and searched for a specific skill; hoping it would do what I wanted it to do. I remembered it and with a sigh of relief, I activated the skill **{Molting}.**

Ting.

 **[-10HP]**

' _Oh shi-'_

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	2. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 2

A/N: I will try to update one chapter a day. No promises though, if I don't get around to edit the chapter. Not updating a chapter without editing first.

* * *

 **DAY 2 Continued.**

Slowly, my consciousness returned and, just as slowly, I opened my eyes.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv.2} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv.3}. Your pain tolerance has increased.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Molting Lv.1} has leveled up to {Molting Lv.2}. Time required for the skill has been reduced by 10 minutes. Total time required: 5 Hours and 50 Minutes.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Creation Lv.1} has leveled up to {Poison Creation Lv.2}. You can create up to 2 poisons.]**

Ting.

 **[Title gained: {Survivor}]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Survive Lv.1} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Sensor Lv.1} acquired.]**

My mind blanked at the sudden onslaught of notifications. _'Wha-!?'_

Slowly I shook myself and winced, when I remembered the last thing that I had done; because if I remembered correctly, I had almost no HP left when I had blacked out. But before that, I searched for the bruised portion, which had turned to pulp, when I had fallen.

No Pain.

I smiled. _'This is awesome! My hunch was right after all! I can use the skill_ _ **{Molting}**_ _to heal my wounds!'_

Giddy from the good news, I checked my HP, it read **[HP: 13/20]**.

' _So it heals my body but doesn't increase my HP? Makes no sense.'_ I frowned a little before smiling in relief. I was happy enough with what I had at the moment. _'Hmm… but if the skill doesn't restore my HP, then does that mean that I regenerate HP over time?'_

Judging by the small amount that had regenerated, it seemed like that was the case. _'That's good to know but how much do I generate?'_

I tried to move out of my shit covered hideout, but, my body refused to move; I was dead tired.

After yesterday's ordeal and the molting that followed it, the energy left in body was miniscule. Still, I think it was the molting that tired me out more than anything else. _'I'd have to be more careful when I molt next time.'_

With what little energy I had, I crawled out and looked up to notice the position of the sun.

That nasty bird-creature had attacked soon after I had woken up, so approximately when the sun was rising but, at the moment, it was overhead. From that I seemed that almost 6 hours had passed since my fainting spell. That gave me a regeneration of 2 points per hour.

I sighed. _'I don't even know if that is a good number or not.'_

I yawned and crawled back in; I was very, very tired.

Turning back to the notifications hanging over me, I started to go through them, but not without a sigh; I may as well go through them now rather than later. The first notification was pretty standard and so was the second; but the second one confused me a little, so I focused on it.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Molting Lv.1} has leveled up to {Molting Lv.2}. Time required to Molt has been reduced from 6 hours to 5 hours and 50 minutes.]**

I grimaced. What good a time reduction of 10 minutes would do here? It was useless; completely useless. I sighed. Maybe the time reduction would increase with each level of the skill? I hoped that was the case. Oh dear god I hoped. I sighed. I guess I'd just have to wait and watch; after all, the least I could do was hope.

Shaking my head, I focused on the next screen.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Creation Lv.1} has leveled up to {Poison Creation Lv.2}.** **You are now capable of creating another poison for whom you have had the sub-resistance maxed out.]**

I grimaced. Again.

If I understood it right, to be able to create another poison, I would have to make myself suffer the poison until the sub-resistance maxed out.

What an _absolutely_ shit thing to do! And absolutely shit thing to put as a condition because maxing out sub-resistances would not be fun; not at all. Just who decided such an idiotic requirement for creating poisons anyway? Did that person had a grudge against me or something? Or did they not want creatures spamming the skill to create more and more poisons?

Stupid piece of shit.

Still grimacing, I moved to the next screen. _'A new_ _ **[Title]**_ _? Now, this is interesting.'_

Ting.

 **[Through your Will, Presence of Mind and sheer Stubbornness, you have defied your Death. You have survived. Grants the skill, {Survive Lv.1}]**

I frowned. ' _What did it mean by "My Death"? Was I supposed to die there? At the hands of that bird? So soon after my rebirth? '_ I scowled. _'Th_ _ **-that better not be true**_ _!'_

Irritated, I focused on my first new skill, **{Survive}.**

Ting.

 **[When activated, stops HP and MP from decreasing below a certain limit for a fixed amount of time. Cost: HP/2. Current Limit of Time: 1 Minute. Current Limit of HP: 1. Current Limit of MP: -]**

I read, and then reread the skill description because I did not know whether I should laugh or scowl at it. On one hand, it fixed my HP so, in a way, it stopped me from dying. On the other hand, it consumed half of my HP – _fucking half of my HP!_ \- and would limit my HP to a mere 1 point and that too for just 1 Minute.

I chose the latter option and scowled. _'What an absolutely fucking piece of shit skill!'_

In the end, I decided to let it be. After all, it was not as if I could do anything about it now. I'd just have to wait for the skill to grow.

Moving on, I focused on the last notification and my second skill, **{Sensor Lv.1}**.

Ting.

 **[Grants the ability to sense the vibrations and changes in the air pattern. Depth and Limit of sensing increase with level.]**

I grinned. Now, this was what I called a good skill. And this also explained how I had sensed the _disturbance_ when that vicious bird had attacke-

A yawn escaped me. Well, I was at my limit.

Closing my eyes, I went back to sleep.

* * *

 **DAY 3**

I woke up with a fierce fire raging in my belly. Hunger was here. And it was finally making itself known after being ignored almost all day yesterday

I sighed.

Though, now that I wasn't dead tired, I noticed, that for some reason, my body was itching. And it wasn't just at one or two points, no; the damn itch had somehow spread over the entirety of my body. I shook myself and rubbed my head in the ground, trying to sooth the itch.

Ah, finally, it soothed a little on my face and I opened my eyes. ' _Huh!'_ I stared dumbly. _'What is that?'_

From my eyes, and from my face, some odd greenish-skin-type-thingy was peeling off. I frowned for a moment before I remembered that I had molted yesterday and that the odd greenish-skin-type-thingy was most likely exuviate that I had shed while molting.

I sighed and began to rub myself against the walls of my hideout with renewed vigor. Damn, that itched! And that burn! I was not having a good day!

As soon as I could, I removed the dead skin sticking to my body and crawled out of my hole to the nearest plant. The burn was so fierce that I practically ran towards the plant, which resulted in leveling up my crawl skill.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.3} has leveled up to become {Crawl Lv.4}. You crawl a little faster now.]**

I ignored the screen and began to chomp down on the nearest leaf without any second thought; though, perhaps, I should have when I realized that it was bitter in taste.

Ignoring the taste, I chomped, chomped and chomped as I continued to devour the leaf.

Ah, finally the burn began to subside. But then-

Ting.

 **[Sub-Skill gained. Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.1} acquired. The effect of the poison has been decreased. A tinge.]**

' _Oh shit!'_ I immediately stopped eating and began to crawl away from the plant. That plant was poisonous and while I had a poison related skill, it was just _Resistance_ , meaning it just delayed the effect and lessened it a bit; it did not stop the poison. And also, I did not have the resistance for plant based poisons! Not until now!

' _Oh shit!' 'Oh shit!' 'Oh shit!' 'Oh shit!'_

I crawled as fast as I could to the next tree. _'Oh shit!'_ I wanted to reach it before the effect of poison hit me - _'Oh shit!'-_ so that I had something to eat if I was left dead tired and unable to move. _'Oh shit!'_ I did not want another repeat of yesterday. _'Oh shit!'_ I wasn't sure if my caterpillar body could withstand two days of fasting. _'Oh shit!'_

Reaching the plant - _'Oh shit!'-_ I gave it a quick onceover and noticed that its leaves were of the same shape as the plant which I had been birthed on. _'Oh shit!'_ That gave me a little relief and I climbed it to reach the nearest leaf. _'Oh shit!'_

The poison hit me _–'Fuuuuuuuckkkkk!'-_ soon after that, as my body began to convulse and pain began to rummage through my body. _'Fuuuuuuuckkkkk!'_ I convulsed and I shrieked yet I somehow managed to stick to the leaf. _'Fuck! Fuuuuuuuckkkkk!'_

My body twitched and struggled against my will as the poison ran its course. _'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'_ My vision began to blur and my sense of smell went wonky. _'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'_ I saw the world move and smelled the odd odor of buttercups and mint. ' _Fuuuuuuuckkkkk!'_ I knew there were neither buttercups nor mints in my vicinity but that little tidbit didn't help as my body continued to squirm against my wish. _'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'_

Luckily, the poison was a weak one and slowly, ever so slowly, the convulsions died down and so did the pain. Finally the world stopped moving and the scent of buttercups and mints vanished along with it.

A sigh of relief escaped me and I began to chomp down on the lovely tasteless leaf beneath me. _'Ah, the tasteless heaven.'_

The rest of the day passed in blur as I did nothing but eat. I chomped down on the leaves like the hungry caterpillar that I was and devoured them with little mercy. I managed to level up to **[Level: 27]** by the time moon rose in the sky which raised my HP to **[HP: 32/32]**.

At that moment, I stopped eating, and grimaced as a sudden thought struck me. I knew I had to do it; there was, after all, no other way. The only way to gain another poison was going through that.

I grimaced again. Now that my skill Poison creation had reached Level 2, it allowed me to create another poison, but, for that to happen, I had to reach maximum level in an another Sub-Poison-Resistance.

And though, I already had **[Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 1]** , at present, I could not level it up as I had no source for it. That left me with the only other resistance I had, **{Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.1}.**

With a defeated sigh, I headed towards to poisonous plant and crawled up its stalk. Slowly I began to chomp down on the tiny stalks connecting the leaves to the stem and allowed them to fall. I broke of 3 leaves and crawled down towards the fallen leaves.

One by one, I grabbed the leaves and slowly, ever so slowly, dragged the leaves towards my little hideout.

After yesterday's scare, I had decided that I was not going to sleep out in the open; after all predators preyed even in the night and I had no intention of becoming an easy meal for anybody. Though this time, I had to widen the hole as I had grown through the day because of eating the innumerous leaves that I had eaten.

Once I reached the hideout, I crawled into the hole but this time, with my ass down the hole and mouth sticking out. Then I began chomping down on the leaves. I ate through the bitter leaves and continued to devour them until, soon, there was just half a leaf remaining.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.1} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.2}. Your resistance to this poison has increased. A little.]**

And then I waited with baited breath; for I knew what was coming. My heart raced in fear and anticipation as I waited.

It took a few moments more than the last time but the poison hit me and my body began to convulse as pain began to rummage through me. _'Fuuuuuck!'_ I convulsed and I shrieked but managed to remain in the hole. _'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'_

My body twitched and struggled, and this time I let it as the poison ran its course - _'Fuuuuuck!'_ \- I knew there was nothing to gain by fighting the poison and it would just tire me out. _'Fuuuuuck!'_

My vision began to blur and my sense of smell went wonky, again. _'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'_ The world started dancing this time and I smelled the odor of swamp and rain. _'Fuck!'_ I knew I was nowhere near a swamp and that it hadn't rained since my birth but that little knowledge didn't help as my body continued to squirm. _'Fuuuuuck!'_

Slowly, the poison ran its course and the convolutions stopped.

Panting, I relaxed my body and laid still, tired. That had been rough; way rougher than what I had expected. I grimaced. I, now, had to do that who knew how many times as I hadn't –yet- evolved a skill to know how many levels it took to max it out. I was so not looking forward to doing this again.

Reaching out, I covered the opening with the half eaten leaf and crawled deeper into the hole. With a sigh, I activated **{Survive Lv.1}** and immediately felt tiredness take over me.

Ting.

 **[-16 HP]**

No I wasn't in any kind of danger and no, I wasn't stupid either. I knew what I was doing. I just wanted to evolve my skills until they were better than they were at the moment.

I found it justified as, well, it was not like I had use of HP while I slept, now did I? And at the same time, with me hiding in my hideout, I was relatively safe. So I had decided to use the safety of the night to evolve my skills while I slept.

The plan, at the moment, was to use **{Survive Lv.1}** and **{Molting Lv. 2}** alternatively each night, so that by the time I woke up, my HP -which I would lose through the use of both those skills- would have recovered.

I, knowingly, did not use both the skills together for two reasons. One, **{Survive Lv.1}** took out half of my HP and I had no idea how much HP **{Molting Lv. 2}** would consume and I did not want to risk death because of my stupidity.

And two, because even if I used **{Molting Lv. 2}** first and then used **{Survive Lv.1}** according to the HP left, I did not want to leave my HP dangerously low as, then, I would not be able to recover that much of a loss in one night.

Sighing, I checked my HP, it read, **[HP: 16/32]**. _'Good thing my HP didn't plummet directly to 1 to get fixed. Because that would have been bad. Very, very bad._

With the agenda of the day achieved, I fell asleep.

* * *

 **DAY 4**

I woke up again, to the feeling of my insides ready to burst. I but my lips and quickly crawled out of my hideout to move towards the non-poisonous plant that I had munched on yesterday. I needed to shit and I needed to shit real fast.

After finishing my morning ablutions, I began to crawl towards the poisonous tree and, just like yesterday, chewed on the tiny stems connecting the leaves to the rest of the plant.

I wanted to get this torture over with as soon as possible.

So I chewed on 10 leaves and let them fall; after all, I had no idea how many leaves it would take for me to level up my sub-poison-resistance skill. That left me with only one thing to do; dragging the fallen leaves back to my hideout.

Slowly, ever so slowly, and steadily I dragged the leaves and finally managed to bring all the 10 back to the hideout.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.4} has leveled up to {Crawl Lv.5}. Your crawl speed has increased.]**

I smiled; at least something good came out of all this dragging leaves back and forth. I guess most caterpillars don't crawl as much as I do. But then again, most caterpillars didn't have sentience either.

Closing the screen with a single thought, I began munching on the bitter leaves one by one. It was on the fourth leaf that I heard the now familiar sound.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.2} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.3}. Your resistance to this poison has increased. A bit.]**

I immediately stopped eating and, as quickly I could, I crawled out of the hole, grabbed a leaf and covered my hideout with it before burrowing deep into the hole.

The quiver, the shakes and the motion sickness started a little later than usual and so did the scent hallucination. I suffered through them all. Though, nausea hit me then and I was not prepared for it. I tried to bite back the bile as I had no intention of vomiting in my hideout. You know what they say, 'Don't shit where you eat' and all that stuff.

Thankfully, the nausea did not last long and was soon gone but that did not mean that the rest of the symptoms left with it. I suffered through the rest of the ordeal with as much dignity I could, but, let me tell you, there was nothing dignified about being poisoned.

When the torment finally ended, I made my way towards the non-poisonous plant which had become my new source of food and began munching on one of its numerous leaves.

The day passed by quickly; what with me munching, again and again aimlessly on the tasteless leaves, and trying to use my newest skill, **{Sensor Lv.1}.** Using it, for the first time, had been enlightening experience. I was left marveling at the difference between what I had felt, on the day of the Attack, and what I had felt when using the actual skill.

Where earlier I had just felt the disturbance and hadn't known that the disturbance was coming from above, until the idiotic bird had screeched, now I could easily tell from which direction the disturbance had originated; though, I still couldn't pin point the disturbance to a particular point or to its actual cause.

By the time when the sun finally set and moon rose in the sky, I had been working the skill all day long; along with eating the leaves of course.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Sensor Lv.1} has leveled up to {Sensor Lv.2}. Depth and Limit of sensing increased. A tinge.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Grimacing, I dismissed the screen before noticing that I had reached **[Level: 36]** which caused my HP to increase to **[HP: 41/41]**. It did not make me smile though, because I was making my way towards the poisonous plant; after all, it was, again, the time for my torture.

I repeated the process from earlier and let 10 leaves fall before dragging them to my hideout. Though this time, I did not crawl completely in the hideout as I did not want to puke in my new home and, in case I did puke, I wanted it to, at least, remain outside the hideout.

Thus, I let my head remain outside and covered both, the hole and myself, with the leaves as soon as I heard the familiar sound.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.3} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.4}. Your resistance had increased. Slightly.]**

The ordeal, as usual, was not over soon. It seemed to stretch on and on and when it was finally over, I sighed in relief and crawled in completely. Making myself comfortable, well, as comfortable as I could after going through the ordeal that I had just gone, I used the skill **{Molting}** as I had used **{Survive}** yesterday.

Ting.

 **[-21 HP]**

I sighed and called for my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Caterpillar]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 36]**

 **[HP: 20/41]**

 **[MP: -]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Hungry}, {Survivor}]**

 **[Skills: {Crawl Lv.4}, {Molting Lv.2}, {Poison Resistance Lv.5}, {Poison Creation Lv.2}, {Survive Lv.1}, {Sensor Lv.2}, {Pain Resistance Lv.3}, {Observe Lv.1}]**

 **[Spells:-]**

I smiled at the growth that I had seen just in the past few days, though, my HP –or what was left of it- still made me grimace. This skill had eaten up a little more than half my HP. I guess my decision, to use only one skill a day, was an intelligent one after all.

I sighed and with one last glance, I dismissed the screen and went to sleep.

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	3. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 3

**DAY 5.**

I woke up with an itch running all over my body.

' _Uh, molting,'_ Remembering, I scowled. _'If this itch persists, it will get old real fast.'_

I wiggled my body and–

 _Crack!_

-heard a crack reverberate in my little hidey-hole. I frowned and squirmed even more, hearing more and more cracks run across exuviate. _'What is going on? Why are there cracks this time? There were no cracks last time.'_

Ignoring the confusion for the moment, I continued my struggle. Soon enough, my struggles bore fruit and I was finally out of my shed skin.

With a sigh of relief –caused by the absence of the _insistent_ itch- I turned around to study the shell that I had just discarded. The exuviate, this time, did not feel like a dried and removed version of my skin, like it had last time, instead, it felt more like those dried leaves that crunched under your feet as you walked along in the months of Autumn.

I frowned once more before turning away from the shed skin; whatever it was that had caused exuviate to harden, I did not have time for it; at the moment, my bursting intestines were my priority. So I decided to take care of it and began my morning ablutions.

After finishing my daily rituals of shitting and dragging the poisonous leaves back to my hideout, I dug into the bitter leaves.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.4} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.5}. The effect of the poison has been decreased. A touch.]**

I was surprised, a little, by the familiar noise; I had expected it to take at least 10-15 leaves before the skill leveled up but, for some reason, it only took me a lot less leaves this time.

What followed after that was the usual circus of pain, aches, convolutions, quivers, olfactory hallucinations and nausea. Though, this time I could not hold the bile in and vomited all over the area next to the entrance of my hideout.

I grimaced. ' _That would stink up the place.'_

Trying to avoid the mess as much as I could, I put a leaf over the mess and began digging next to it so as to dump the resulting mud on the vomit.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Dig Lv.1} acquired.]**

Intrigued, I focused on the skill name, wondering if it was any good.

Ting.

 **[Digging speed increases with increase in level.]**

I scowled. _'Useless. Utterly useless.'_

Dismissing the screen without another thought, I returned to burying the mess; after all, I did not want to walk out of my place, every morning, only to be greeted by the stench of vomit.

After making sure that the stink of sickness was thoroughly vanquished, I started crawling back to my usual plant. Though, I grimaced when it finally came into my field of vision. It seemed like I had already eaten most of its leaves and if I ate any more, I was sure that it would die.

I sighed and began crawling as I searched for another plant with the same leaves as the previous one. It took me a little time but I found one quickly enough and it was a good find. The plant that I had found was big enough to qualify as a small tree.

With a small smile, I crawled up the bark to reach the nearest leaf and began munching on the tasteless food. While munching on the leaf, I activated my skill, **{Sensor};** or better to say, I started focusing more attentively on my surroundings.

Well, the thing was, it was not like the skill consumed MP or HP to activate, so there was no notification for its usage. And every time I used the skill, I just started feeling my surroundings more attentively and actively; it had little to nothing to do with activation.

But …meh. Activating the skill sounded much better than saying focusing on the surrounding. So I was going to stick with it.

The response from the skill was nothing that I hadn't expected. A little disturbance from the north as the wind changed direction, causing the leaves to ruffle and the like. It was peaceful, soothing even. Thus I continued to munch on the leaf without any care.

It was as I was moving onto my 4th leaf that I felt a disturbance from my back and turned around. There, approximately 2 meters away from me, was a snail, almost thrice my size, sliding towards the same branch as me. Its eyes were fixated on me as if I was a piece of meat; which, to it, I most probably was.

At the moment, it was the predator and I was its prey.

My heartbeat fastened as my mind raced, trying to come with an offensive attack to take out the snail before it could reach me. It came up with nothing.

All the skills that I had were defensive skills and the only offensive skill that I had was the poison creation one. But that skill secreted Poison from the pores on my body and was my last ditch effort to take out the offender alongside me. It was a suicide attack and I didn't fancy dying again.

If I had been human, I would be sweating right now because I had nothing to attack with. Sure I had my teeth but my body was soft, so very soft; one slam from the shell of snail would be all to flatten me like mush.

I gulped. This was dangerous, extremely so.

I was not armed to confront and the snail was blocking my exit. There was no escape. And unlike last time, I couldn't repeat the falling act because last time I had been on a plant but this time I was on a tree. And although it was small tree, it was a fucking tree nonetheless. If I tried to redo my last escaping act, my soft body will splatter on the ground, showcasing my insides to the world.

Not a scenario that I wanted to recreate.

But then an idea struck me; an incredibly stupid and brilliant idea. It would require me to time the act just correctly or I would turn into snail feed real soon.

With no other option available, I executed the idea and started moving in the direction of the snail. After crawling a few inches, I stopped and activated the skill, **{** **Poison Creation}.**

Poison began to pour out of my pores until the hairs, on my body, were dripping with it. Satisfied, I rolled around, trying to make a line of poison as I rolled. I rolled and rolled and I rolled. I rolled as if my life defended on it; which, it actually did. So I kept rolling. The poison, from my body, was soon all on the branch but I kept on using the skill to secrete more and more of the –hopefully- lethal liquid.

I continued on rolling until branch had a thick line of poison stretching across its width. My plan was simple; I just had to create a thick line of poison so that when the snail slid over it, to reach me, the creature would absorb maximum amount of poison and hopefully die.

I just hoped that it was stupid enough to not try to bypass the line.

I grimaced when another thought struck me; a lot of this plan was based on just _hoping. 'I am going to die, aren't I?'_

Shaking my head to clear it of the negative thoughts, I crawled back and again began secreting poison but this time, instead of rolling around, I bend down until my mouth was touching my body and sucked; taking in a mouthful of poison. I planned on spitting the poison on the snail when it came in my range.

By now the creature had reached my way too visible trap and thankfully, it was stupid enough to cross it over without a second thought.

I knew the exact moment my poison began to work as the snail's face twisted in pain. I took that chance and spat the poison that I had in my mouth.

I missed. _'Just my freaking luck!'_

I bend down and sucked again before turning to face the snail and spitting. I hit it this time and the creature hissed in pain. I smiled. _'This just might work.'_

I bend down again and spat at the creature as it crossed over my poison line; wincing and flinching all the while.

My heart beat fastened as I became desperate and repeated the process again and again with mediocre result, as sometimes, I missed while, other times, I hit it. I spat again and, this time, I got lucky; my poison hit the creature in one its eye and it began thrashing wildly.

Knowing I did not have much option, I crawled over to the thrashing creature and bit at the stalk of the creature's good eye, the one that I hadn't hit with my poison. It thrashed even more and tried to hit me with its shell but, at that very moment, I pulled with all my might.

The eyestalk broke off and the creature recoiled in pain, causing the attack to just grace me, yet, the pain was enormous.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

I backed off a little and then thrashed the creature with my poison covered body. I hit it again but at the same time, it lunged forward and bit me.

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

I winced and thrashed the creature with renewed vigor. This was 'do or die' after all, and I did not want to die. I winced as the creature ripped off my flesh but I continued to hit it with my poison covered body.

Ting.

 **[-7 HP]**

I hit it again and again until it stopped moving.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Creation Lv.2} has leveled up to {Poison Creation Lv.3}. You can create up to 3 poisons.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Resistance Lv.5} has leveled up to {Poison Resistance Lv.6}. Your Resistance to poisons has increased.]**

I gaped. My level read, **[Level: 42]** while my HP read, **[HP: 22/47]**! 6 Levels! 6 freaking Levels and two skill level ups from just one fight! _'Why am I wasting my time eating those stupid leaves, when I can just kill these snails?'_

Though this did beg the question, why did the snail gave me so much experience that it transcended into multiple levels? When, at the same time, I had to eat tons of leaves just to gain one level. What was the difference? Why were the snails so much more profitable to me?

Was it because I was its prey and it was my predator? Was it because I was supposed to be hunted by it and not hunt it? Was it because I was supposed to be killed by it but I killed it instead? Was it because the predator became the prey?

Dear Merlin on a stick! Jus-

I shook my head. If it was because of the prey and the predator thing, then I could surely exploit this in future.

A smile morphed slowly itself on my face and I shivered in excitement but immediately flinched.

Though the Snail's attack had just graced me, where it had hit me, my flesh had tuned to pulp. Not to forget the flesh that the thrice damned snail had ripped off. _'Yep. That's why I have been avoiding confrontation. Because I am a freaking caterpillar!'_

I grimaced and checked my status to get the reading of my HP, it read **[HP: 22/47]**. I had lost 25 Points.

I sighed. I couldn't remain here anymore, not in the condition I was in. But I also couldn't go back to my hideout without eating as that would just come back to bother me tomorrow.

Shaking my head to clear it, I decided to go back to the plant that had been feeding me until now; even though that was the last thing I wanted to do.

The thing, though, that I wanted to do the most was to go back to my hideout and Molt but I had less than half of my HP; trying to Molt now would be, hands down, the stupidest thing that I could ever do.

I crawled down the tree, wincing and flinching all the while, and made my way towards my old hangout. It still had just as few leaves as I had seen in the morning.

I understood now why caterpillars were considered pests.

The time passed in blur after that as I kept using the skill, **{Sensor}** , both to be vigilant and to level it up. By the time moon rose in the sky, I had recovered 20 points of HPso my HP bar was almost back to its full strength and had earned 8 more levels so that now my level read, **[Level: 50]**.

With the full HP, I decided to follow through my daily ritual. But instead of dragging poisoned leaves back with me, I ate them directly from the plant; after all, in my condition, I couldn't drag almost 10 leaves to my hideout.

I consumed the leaves until I heard the familiar sound.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.5} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.6}. Your resistance to this poison has increased. Minutely.]**

I dismissed the screen, not bothering to even read it, and began crawling down the tree as fast as I could. I had no intention of being stuck on some random and thin branch of a plant when the convolutions hit; that would be just asking for a repeat of my first ever fall from a tree.

What followed, my arrival back to the ground, was, by now, the regular dose of quivering, nausea, vomit, convolutions, olfactory hallucinations and pain. Though this time, auditory hallucination also joined in and I heard children giggling.

It scared me until I realized that it was all a part of the hallucinations; after all, children -in their curiosity- could be the cruelest of all people. I had lived with my cousin, I would know.

I shuddered as I made my way back to the hideout and settled in before activating the skill, **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-27 HP]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Molting Lv.2} has leveled up to {Molting Lv.3}. Time required for the skill has been reduced by 10 minutes. Total time required: 5 Hours and 40 Minutes.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Sensor Lv.2} has leveled up to {Sensor Lv.3}. Depth and Limit of sensing increased.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.4} has leveled up to {Crawl Lv.5}. Crawling speed had increased.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv.3} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv.4}. Resistance to pain had increased.]**

I sighed. Today had been the night for using the skill, **{Survive}** , but because of the condition that I had been in, I had to use **{Molting}** instead; as, even though, my HP had recovered, my bruised and ripped off flesh had remained just as it had been, bruised and ripped off.

As the skill began working, drowsiness overtook me and I fell asleep.

 **DAY 6**

The next day, I followed my usual morning routine of pooping and eating the bitter leaves from the poisonous plant until I heard a familiar sound.

Ting.

 **[{Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.6} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.7}. Your resistance to this poison has increased.]**

The sound was, after a while, followed by the usual rounds of convolutions, quivers, hallucinations, aches and pain. Though, this time, the circus was over a lot sooner than all the previous times.

I smiled. My Poison Resistance had finally begun decreasing the effect of poison. Still smiling, I began crawling towards the new three that I had found. Today, I had a plan.

Reaching my new source of food, I crawled up its bark and began searching for a branch that was rather new and still tender, i.e. it hadn't turned into wood. Soon, I found what I was looking for and began to dig a hole in the middle of the branch.

A while later, I was assaulted by the familiar sound.

Ting.

[ **{Dig Lv.1} has leveled up to {Dig Lv.2}. Digging speed has increased.** ]

Dismissing the screen, I went back to work. This skill was still useless as ever.

Once the hole was done, I began to expand it from the sides, so that it covered the entire width of the branch but left it narrow enough that I could hide it by covering it up with a few well placed leaves. So that was what I did, after I had filled it with poison, of course.

Yep, that was my brilliant plan, to trap the route to reach me; so that if another snail tried to make me its lunch –or even breakfast for that matter; I would not discriminate on the basis of eating time- it would have to cross through my puddle of poison and, hopefully, die.

Ting.

[ **Skill acquired {Trap Lv.1}. Traps made by you are comparatively more efficient.** ]

Surprised at the notification, I focused on the new skill.

 **[Your traps do 1% more damage.]**

I smiled a sour smile; although I got a new skill; it seemed utterly useless with its 1% extra damage.

Sighing, I checked my handiwork. Satisfied with what I had done, I activated the skill, **{Sensor}** and began to munch on the ever tasteless leaves.

By noon, I hadn't had any run in with any snail, like the one I had encountered yesterday, and I was very thankful for that fact. It was not that I didn't want the sudden jump in levels, no, I did; I did very much. It was just that I wasn't sure, despite the new skill, just how effective my trap was.

But that soon changed as the **{Sensor}** signaled me about a disturbance approaching me. Dreading what I would find, I turned around and sure enough, there was snail, sliding towards me with hunger filled eyes; this one was a little smaller than the previous one, barely thrice my size.

Grimacing, I began walking towards my trap and stopped at a safe distance away from it before activating **{Poison Creation}** to soak my body completely in poison. I planned on repeating yesterday's strategy if the trap failed; I would spit poison at the creature from afar and, when it finally came near me, I would try to bite off one of its stalks, that holds its eyes.

If it was still alive by that time, then thrash it around until it died.

Not the best plan, I knew that, but at the moment, it would do.

I watched, like a hawk, as the creature slid towards me tirelessly before finally reaching my trap. It ignored the leaves completely; its eyes fixated on me and not wavering even for a second.

And then as it continued to slide, its body didn't find anything solid to hold its wait and it fell in my trap. It shrieked and thrashed around and convoluted as the poison began working. I waited with baited breath before crawling closer to the trap.

The creature was still thrashing and withering in pain when I made it to the trap. I winced; I would not want to be in that situation, ever. But, at the moment, I could not bring myself to feel that bit of guilt; it was 'Do or Die' and I, sure as hell, did not want to die.

The creature, still flinching, tried to make its way out of the puddle but as soon as it was within my range, I hit it, as hard as I could, with my poison covered body, making it fall back in the trap.

It shrieked, again, but it did not give up and, once again, wincing and flinching, it tried to make its way out of the puddle. I was there though, waiting for it, and hit him with the tail end of my body.

But this time, the snail had wizened up, and tried to bite me as my body raced towards it. Its teeth grazed me and I winced.

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

I flinched back at the pain and the creature advanced, trying to make it out of the puddle while I was busy licking my wounds. I shook myself and crawled forward, this time aiming for its shell when I tried to hit him.

I struck.

Ting.

 **[-2 HP]**

I winced. That was stupid; incredibly stupid. Why in the world did I think that it was a good idea? The snail's shell was as hard as rock and I when I hit it, with my soft and pulpy body; it was like slamming my face in a wall. _'Ugghh..'_

But then, thankfully, the creature went limp as it died.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Creation Lv.3} has leveled up to {Poison Creation Lv.4}. You can create up to 4 poisons.]**

I grinned; 5 Level ups and 1 skill level up for the loss of just 5 HP. Awesome! That was like the best deal ever!

I crawled forward and bit the snail before trying to drag the creature out of the puddle. After all, I still had leaves to eat. Gasping from the effort, -that snail was heavy damn you!- I dragged the creature out of the puddle and towards the crook of the branch. There, I turned around and hit the snail, once again, with the tail end of my body causing it fall down.

Thud!

It fell on its shell and got stuck in the ground, upside down. I shook my head before crawling towards the puddle and filled it up again with my poison; the snail, in all its thrashing and quivering, had caused the poison to spill out of it.

I gave the puddle an onceover. It was still in good condition as the snail hadn't managed to damage it much. Nodding, I made my way over to the leaves and began munching with the skill, **{Sensor}** , active.

It was in the afternoon that I felt the disturbance again, though this time, it wasn't coming from back, but from beneath me; from the ground. I watched, interested, as a large scorpion made its way over to the dead snail.

It looked around carefully before chomping down on the soft meat of the snail. I winced. Was that scorpion an idiot? Couldn't it tell that the snail was poisoned?

I watched in fascination as the moron of a scorpion ate the complete snail and began to walk off. I waited for my poison to kick in, for it surely would.

So I waited.

And the creature walked.

And I waited.

And the creature walked.

And I waited.

And the creature walked until walked out of my sight and my range.

Without any ill effect from my poison.

I gaped!

That snail had been dripping to the brim with my poison –my poison that had killed it!- and that-that scorpion just shrugged the poison off like it was an oriental spice! It was like the biggest Fuck You ever!

' _Fuck you too scorpion!'_ I fumed. _'Fuck you too!'_

The rest of the day passed in relative peace, that is, until the sun began to set.

My skill picked up another disturbance and I turned around to face yet another snail. I thanked the gods that enough time had passed that the previous HP loss was recovered and I was at my full health.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Sensor Lv.3} has leveled up to {Sensor Lv.4}. Depth and Limit of sensing increased.]**

Dismissing the screen, I watched the snail slide towards me and waited, patiently, for it to fall into the trap. As it fell, it screeched but I ignored it and made my way towards the hissing and flinching snail rolling around in my puddle.

Finally, it tried to make its way out the puddle. As it neared me, I bend down as fast as I could and bit at its eye stalk before pulling with all my might.

The snail almost made it out of the puddle when the stalk ripped off of it and it flinched and shrieked in pain. Taking advantage of its distraction, I hit it, carefully this time, sending it back rolling into the puddle.

It hissed and flinched for a moment before again trying to slide out of the puddle. As it neared me, it rushed forward, trying to bite me.

I flinched back when it moved; still, it reached me easily and almost bit me. Trying to avoid its bite, I moved again and bit at the remaining eye stalk before pulling harshly. My pull caused the snail to make it out of the puddle as the eye stalk broke, causing it to shriek and hiss in pain.

My heart raced as I began to panic but, then, common sense kicked in so I spat out the eye and head butted the snail causing it to fall back into the puddle. The creature screeched and thrashed around as it rolled in poison before its movement finally came to halt.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

I grinned manically. 5 Level ups and not a single HP loss! Brilliant! Though, I noticed, none of my skills leveled up this time but, the 8 levels I gained from devouring the leaves, more than made up for it. Over all, it was a good haul.

Still smiling, I once again began dragging the giant ass corpse of the snail as I gasped and did my utter best to make it mo-

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired, {Ant's Will Lv.1}]**

I stopped dragging the snail carcass and focused on the new skill.

Ting.

 **[Your strength becomes 2x for 1 minute. Cost: 10 HP/Minute.]**

I grinned, again; it was a good skill. Though the 10 HP cost was kind of a bummer.

Smiling I dragged the corpse, without activating my new skill, and threw it down. I left the tree soon after that and made my way towards the poisonous tree for my daily routine of leveling up my skills.

I was chewing on the stalk of the leaf, to cause it to break off and fall, when I remembered what I had done yesterday and paused. Yesterday, I had eaten all the leaves directly from the plant and I had been fine.

Maybe I was way too cautious. Paranoid even.

With that thought, I decided to follow the same procedure as yesterday. After all, I did not want to end up like a certain acquaintance of mine that was constantly looking over its shoulder.

Thus I ate the leaves, while on the branch, until I head the distinctive sound.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.7} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.8}. Your resistance to this poison has increased. A little.]**

Dismissing the screen, I crawled down and waited for the poison to hit with baited breath. It took the poison longer than usual to hit and when it finally did hit, it not only lasted for a shorter time period but also had far few effects. Hallucinations didn't occur this time and neither did I experience the nausea, result in a vomit-less occurrence.

Tired from the convolutions, I made my way towards the hideout.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.5} has leveled up to {Crawl Lv.6}. Your crawl speed has increased.]**

Reaching the hole, that had somehow become my home, I settled in and activated the skill, **{Survive Lv.1}.** _'Survive.'_

Ting.

 **[-37 HP]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Survive Lv.1} had leveled up to {Survive Lv.2}. Time Limit and HP Limit have both increased by 1. Current Time Limit: 2 minutes. Current HP Limit: 2 HP]**

I laughed heartily at the HP loss; that much laugh would have killed me, on my first day here, in just one go. But now, now I was leisurely sacrificing it to just level up a skill.

Smiling I called up my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Caterpillar]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 68]**

 **[HP: 36/73]**

 **[MP: -]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Hungry}, {Survivor}]**

 **[Skills: {Crawl Lv.6}, {Molting Lv.3}, {Poison Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.2}, {Sensor Lv.4}, {Pain Resistance Lv.4}, {Trap Lv.1}, {Dig Lv.2}, {Ant's Will Lv.1}, {Observe Lv.1}]**

 **[Spells:-]**

I studied the status with no little amount of satisfaction before tiredness caught up to me and I fell asleep.

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P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	4. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 4

**DAY 7**

I woke up, as usual, with in an intense pressure building up my ass. Though, not as usual, today I woke up tired; sure, I wasn't as tired as last night but I wasn't as fresh as I had been yesterday morning.

I frowned and tried to figure out the reason, for this newfound tiredness. The frown melted with remembering the simple fact that last night I had used **{Survive}.** The skill had taken half of my HP out, which had been a whopping 37 points.

Of course, I hadn't recovered all 37 points of HP in a single night. After all, I had slept for 11 hours, which means a recovery of 22 points. I sighed and checked on my HP and, sure enough, it read, **[HP: 58/73]**.

I frowned, 58 points still left me 15 HP short of a complete HP bar. And while I didn't want to venture out in the woods until I was at my best, I just couldn't stay holed up for 8 hours, doing nothing, while waiting for my HP to recover.

Pursing my lips, I decided to follow through my schedule despite not having a full HP bar. After all, it wasn't as if I hadn't gone around, doing my business, when I had been a low level caterpillar and my total HP had been less than 58.

Thus, I moved my ass.

Reaching the poisonous plant I began munching on the bitter leaves. I was somewhere on my 13rd leaf when I heard the familiar sound.

Ting.

[ **{Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.8} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.9}. Your resistance to this poison has increased.** ]

I shook my head and crawled down the plant. It took the poison even longer today to hit me and when it did, its effects were weak and it lasted for just a while. Though the poison just had me convulsing and quivering, those symptoms didn't last for long.

I grinned; finally, the resistance was turning into something good. Still smiling, I made my way towards the tree that had been feeding me for the past few days.

Nothing much happened after that. I munched on the leaves and kept on using the skill, **{Sensor}.** I was surprised when I didn't see any snails approaching me. I was thankful for the peace, I really was, but at the same time, I was disappointed.

' _Huh! Who would have guessed?_ '

When the night finally fell, and the moon rose in the sky, I left the tree with Level being **[Level: 75]** and my HP reading, **[HP: 80/80]**. A total gain of 7 points.

I know, I know; the level gain was a lot less than what, I had been gaining, when I had been a low level creature. But this lower gain had nothing to do with me eating less leaves, I was sure of that. As far as I could tell, the higher my level was, the more time –and leaves- it took me to level up.

I shook my head to clear it of useless thoughts and made my way to the tree with bitter leaves. I was chomping down on my 17th lea-

Ting.

[ **{Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.9} has leveled up to {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.10}. Your resistance to this poison has increased.** ]

I smiled and crawled dow-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.6} had leveled up to {Crawl Lv.7}. Your crawl speed has increased.]**

I dismissed the screen and continued on my way. Reaching the ground, I waited for the poison to hit me. And I continued to wait. It really was taking a little too long. _'Have I become immune to the poi-'_

The convolutions hit me then. Though they were weak and lasted just for a few moments.

I grinned through the pain and the gasping; all my hard work was finally beginning to pay off.

Still grinning, I reached my hideout and began to widen it; it was something that I had to do daily. After all, after an entire day of doing nothing but eating, eating and more eating, how could I even expect to fit in the hole that I was been cozily snuggling in the morni-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Dig Lv.2} had leveled up to {Dig Lv.3}. Digging speed has increased.]**

I ignored the screen and continued to dig, before settling in the hideout, which had been my shelter here since when I was born. Smiling I decided to use **{Survive}** instead of **{Molting};** after all, I had to use **{Molting}** continuously for two days when I had been injured. It was just right that I used **{Survive}** 2 times too. Thus I activated the skill.

' _Survive.'_

Ting.

 **[-40 HP]**

Dismissing the screen, I went to sleep.

* * *

 **DAY 8.**

I woke up feeling tired, just like yesterday, and sighed. _'This is going to be a daily thing, isn't it?'_

Following my daily routine, I headed towards the poisonous plant and after renewing the trap, began to munch on the tasteless delicacies that I had been eating since I had been reborn.

Ting.

 **[{Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv.10} has leveled up to reach the maximum level and has become {Mild-Poison: Plant: Resistance Lv. Max}]**

Ting.

 **[Sub-skill acquired {Poison Creation Lv.4: Available: Mild Plant Poison}]**

Startled because of two notifications, it took me a few moments to comprehend what the second screen meant before a grin plastered itself on my face. _'Finally! Fucking finally!'_

I laughed.

Still grinning like a maniac, I made my way towards the non-poisonous tree that was the source of my food and began munching with the skill, **{Sensor},** active. I ate and munched and devoured like no there was no tomorrow.

Yet, when the moon rose in the sky at night, I had only managed to gain 7 levels. This decrease of gain thing, at higher levels, was annoying. Truly so.

I checked my level. It read, **[Level: 82]** and, at the same time, I also checked my HP, which read, **[HP: 87/87]**.

Leaving the tree, I made my way home for the hideout. Today I was early though, as I no longer had to eat the bitter leaves of the poisonous plant. Having nothing better to do, I began digging around the hole, to expand the hideout even more. Just as I was finis-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Dig Lv.3} had leveled up to {Dig Lv.4}. Digging speed has increased.]**

Finishing the expansion, I settled in before crawling back out. _'There is no point in wasting perfectly good time sleeping!'_

So I crawled back to the poisonous tree and instead of crawling up on it, I began digging; trying to level up the skill. It was not because I had great expectation from the skill, I didn't. It just happened to be one of the few skill, in my repertoire, that didn't need anything to be used; hence my choice.

Thus I dug and crawled and dug.

Now why was I digging all the way over here instead of near my hideout? Because of that very reason; hideout are supposed to be hidden.

If I began digging around the hideout, then the mounds of mud and innumerous holes would attract the attention to that area; thus defeating the very purpose of a hideout. Not something I was stupid enough to do.

With me grinding my skills, all way out here, I didn't have to worry about attention as I won't be coming here anymore anyway.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.7} had leveled up to {Crawl Lv.8}. Your crawl speed has increased.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Dig Lv.4} had leveled up to {Dig Lv.5}. Digging speed has increased.]**

Grinning at the two level ups, I made my way back to the hideout and finally settled in before calling up my status and using the skill, **{Molting}.**

Ting.

 **[-40 HP]**

I grimaced as tiredness overcame me. _'Hmm. It didn't cost me half my HP this time.'_

That news brought a smile on my face when I finally comprehended its implications. The description of the skill said, _Cost depends on the size of the being;_ which meant that the skill **{Molting}** need not always take half of my HP.

Tired, and satisfied with today's achievements, I fell asleep.

* * *

 **DAY 9**

I woke up, as was usual for me now, tired; on the account of not having had recovered the entirety of my lost HP.

Beyond that, I was itchy, so very itchy; all because of that goddamn skill **{Molting}**. I squirmed and heard a small crack. I frowned. _'Just a small crack?'_

I squirmed, wiggled and struggled and as a result heard series of cracks echo throughout my body. Smiling, I wiggled until I was out of shed shell.

I turned around. With each level up, the shell that I shed seemed to be becoming stronger. At level 1, it had felt like a peeled off skin and at level 2, it had felt like particularly dry leaf in autumn. But now, at Level 3, it felt like paper; stronger than leaf but weak still. _'Just what is going on with this skill?'_

Frowning, I let the subject drop; it was not as if I could do anything about it now anyway.

So after the usual business, of me relieving the bursting pressure from my intestines, I headed directly for the tree that was the source of my food. As I crawled up the tree, I noticed the branch, on which I usually munched on, was dying. _'Is it because of my trap?'_

I frowned and crawled up to the trap to inspect it. Sure enough, one of the veins of the tree had been scratched and the poison was leaking into it. I frowned. My poison was weak, very weak. Even the poison from the poisonous plant was stronger than mine. _'That is why I wanted it so bad and suffered the torture two times a day.'_

I sighed about the dying branch; nothing I could do there now. So I moved onto the next branch and began to dig in to prepare the trap; though this time, I was careful to not break any of the veins, just the flesh.

Now, why was I preparing the traps? Just because there hadn't been any attacks in the past two days, it didn't mean that they won't happen in future.

Finishing up the hole –a drain really- I filled it up with both poisons that I could now create; the weak bug poison and the mild plant poison. I did so because I did not know if the snails had immunity to the plant based poison -they could if they ate it like I did- and I did not want to take the chance if they did. I would be a sitting duck for them, if my trap did not work.

Filling up the hole, I covered it with the leaves, as best as I could, before crawling up to my bland food and chomping down on it with the skill **{Sensor}** active.

By the time moon rose in the sky, I had gained 6 levels, 1 less than yesterday, though I had eaten just as much –or more- leaves as last time. This decreasing utility this was irritating.

Grumbling, I checked my level and HP; my level read, **[Level: 88]** while my HP read **[HP: 93].**

I smiled; I was so close to level 100! I just wanted to see what I would evolve into! I hope, whatever it was, allowed me to use magic! Now that would be awesome!

With a smile plastered over my face, I crawled over to the poisonous tree for another digging session. There I dug and crawled and dug until I was tired and it was time to return to the hideo-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.8} had leveled up to {Crawl Lv.9}. Your crawl speed has increased.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Dig Lv.5} had leveled up to {Dig Lv.6}. Digging speed has increased.]**

Satisfied with the skill level ups, I made my way back to the hideout before expanding it to fit my inflated body and settled in. Snuggled closely in my home, I used **{Survive}** and immediately another wave of tiredness took over me.

Ting.

 **[-47 HP]**

I smiled; satisfied with the day I had and fell asleep.

* * *

 **DAY 10**

I woke up tired, lazy and cranky. I had not even recovered half of the HP that I had lost last night. Of the 47 HP lost, I had managed to regain just 22 points due to the 11 hours of sleep; my HP now read, **[HP: 68/93]**.

It would take the rest of the day to recover the remaining 25 HP at 2 HP/Hour. _'I really, and I mean really really, need a way to recover HP faster.'_

Grouchy, from the tiredness, I began crawling for the tree. Crawling up, I renewed the pit fall trap with both the poisons that I could produce and began munching on the leaves. By the time noon arrived and sun was directly overhead, trying to melt the ground with its heat, I had leveled up –guess, how many times- one time.

I had leveled up one fucking time! _One_!

Grumbling, I grimaced before I felt a disturbance. _'No. Not today._ _I_ _am so not in the mood for this.'_

I turned around and, sure enough, there was a snail –three times my size; and considering that I had grown quite a bit, it was saying something- crawling towards me.

I turned around and waited for it to fall in my trap; which it did soon enough.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Trap Lv.1} has leveled up to {Trap Lv.2}. Your traps do 1% more damage. Extra damage due to the skill: 2%]**

I frowned. I had renewed the trap in the morning, not now. Why was it leveling up now? Did the skill level up when the trap activated rather than when it was set? Or did the skill level up only when the trap killed?

A discussion for another time as the snail has stopped its shrieking and thrashing and was trying to crawl out.

I smiled; this snail looked to be in way worse a condition than all the other snails that have fallen prey to my pitfall trap. It seemed that the snails didn't have any resistance against the plant poison that I could produce now.

I crawled up to it and hit it with the back end of my body; sending it tumbling down back into the puddle.

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

I winced; it had managed to graze its sharp teeth against my soft flesh. Still wincing, I watched the snail continued to struggle in the puddle before its movement came to halt.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

' _Well.'_ I frowned _. 'That was easy.'_

Why was it that easy? Was it because I had used the Mild-Plant poison? Was it really that much stronger than my poison? Or was it because I had mixed two different kinds of poison together and made an entirely new one?

With a sigh, I dismissed the screen and dismissed the thought too; I had better things to worry about than a silly technicality. I opened the status screen to check my level and HP; my level read, **[Level: 93** ] while my HP read, **[HP: 82/98]**. _'Not bad.'_

I crawled down the pit and activated the skill, { **Ant's Will}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

I felt a sudden energy flow into my body as the skill activated. Smiling, I bit into the snail and began dragging the carcass, over the edge, to throw it away.

 **Crunch!**

I winced at the sound and turned to look down. There it was, the snail carcass, burying a scorpion under it. The scorpion, though having taken a great deal of damage, was still very much alive. I prayed that the creature wouldn't look up and think that I was the one who had attacked it; I could not take down a scorpion as a Caterpillar. No way in Heavens I could.

Thankfully, the creature did not seem to be sentient, or intelligent for that matter, as it attacked the dead snail with its stinger in retaliation. I sighed in relief. _'Dodged a bullet there, I did.'_

The scorpion, with great difficulty, managed to throw the snail shell off of it before it began to chomp down on the snail with gusto. _'Is this the same scorpion that had eaten the previous poisoned snail without even breaking a single line of sweat?'_

It sure looked the same as it devoured the snail.

I scowled. What a giant fuck you! Not even two of my poisons were strong enough to kill the thing. _'Fuck you too buddy!'_

Grumbling I went back to eating the leaves but felt another disturbance soon after. Grimacing, I turned around. Yes, you guessed it right; another snail.

I waited for it to fall into the pit, and when it did, I crawled up to it. It was shrieking and thrashing, nothing unusual, but, what was unusual was, that it seemed to be convulsing in pain. Was that the work of plant poison? It sure looked like it.

I watched and waited as the creature continued to quiver before it controlled itself and tried to make its way out of the puddle. As it reached me, I bit into its eye stalk and pulled at it with all my might. The creature screeched as its eyestalk broke off and it tried to retaliate with a tackle from its shell.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

It hit and I flinched. Backing off a little, I watched the snail continue to flinch and quiver before it, finally, went still.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

I grinned; 4 level ups, back to back! I checked my Level and my HP; they read, **[Level: 97]** and **[HP: 61/102]**.

Grimacing, I activated the skill, **{Ant's Will}** , and felt energy rush into my veins.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

Crawling down the puddle, I dragged the body out before filling the trap with just mild-plant poison this time. Biting into the carcass, I dragged the snail over to the edge of the branch and threw it down.

Thud.

Fortunately –or unfortunately- the snail did not hit the scorpion this time and just landed on the ground. Shaking my head, I went back to munch on the leaves but, just then, I felt another disturbance.

' _You have got to be kidding me!'_ I snapped mentally _. 'Three days and not a single sign of them and now, when I am not at full health, they all are here to party!'_

I waited, again, for the snail to fall into the trap –which it did- before making my way over to the trap. I watched, as the creature convulsed in pain, with dread rising in me. I had, literally, half my health left; I did not want to engage in any more mishaps.

As the creature controlled itself and made its way out of the puddle, I hit it with the tail end of my body.

Ting.

 **[-5 HP]**

I winced; instead of hitting the soft flesh, I had hit the hard shell of the snail; now my flesh, where I had hit the snail, was bruised and pulpy. Thankfully, hitting the shell had the desired effect and the snail fell back into the puddle, flinching and shrieking.

I waited for the it try again but it didn-

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have reached Level 100. Do you want to evolve now?]**

 **[YES NO]**

I grinned. _'Finally!'_

I wanted to evolve, of course I did. Why wouldn't I? But I couldn't do it here where I could become snail chow any minute. So, reluctantly, I focused on 'NO'.

Ting.

 **[You can evolve later by selecting the 'Evolve' option from your status window.]**

Dismissing the screens, I crawled towards my home.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.9} had leveled up to {Crawl Lv.10}. Your crawl speed has increased.]**

Irritated, I dismissed the screen; I did not need that notification right now. What I needed, right now, was a safe place to evolve.

Reaching the hideout, I crawled inside and began to dig. I did not know what my size would be after the evolution, so I made as much space, inside the hole, as I possibly could while leaving the entrance to the hideout untouched.

But as I continued to dig, the foundation of the entrance began to weaken and we could not have had that. So instead of digging horizontally, I began digging vertically, i.e. downwards. I dug a tunnel and when it was far away to not affect the foundation of the entrance, I began expanding. I dug and I dug and I dug.

By the time I was finished, the hideout had enough space to fit in 7 caterpillars of my size.

Satisfied, I called up my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Caterpillar]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 100]**

 **[HP: 49/105]**

 **[MP: -]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Hungry}, {Survivor}]**

 **[Skills: {Crawl Lv.10}, {Molting Lv.3}, {Poison Resistance Lv.7}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.2}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Pain Resistance Lv.4}, {Trap Lv.2}, {Dig Lv.6}, {Ant's Will Lv.1}, {Observe Lv.1}]**

 **[Spells:-]**

 **[EVOLVE]**

Shivering in excitement, I focused on the option, **[EVOLVE].**

Ting.

 **[Do you want to evolve now?]**

 **[YES NO]**

Grinning, I focused on **[YES]**.

Ting.

 **[Choose your form.]**

 **[Butterfly Lv.1: Your species related evolution path.]**

 **[Moth Lv. 1: Variant. Granted due to your anarchic methods.]**

I read both the options and frowned. What did it mean by 'Anarchic Methods'? What 'Anarchic Methods'?

' _Wait. Is this 'Anarchic method' usage of traps to kill the snails? If that is the case then I was not supposed to be able to kill them after all, huh. And that is why they gave hefty experience.'_

So does that mean that I was supposed to evolve into a butterfly just by eating leaves? _'Wha-No. No, sir. I am not choosing to be a butterfly. Moth it is.'_

Ting.

 **[You have chosen Moth as you evolution. Are you sure?]**

 **[YES NO]**

I focused on **[YES]**.

Ting.

 **[Evolution will begin now.]**

Before I could even dismiss the screen, an overbearing urge to spit around me hit me. I straightened up and stood up on my hind legs as my mouth came down and spat something that began solidifying as soon as it left my mouth.

I watched in horrified fascination as my I began to spin a cocoon around me, transforming myself into a pupa. _'W-wh-what am I doing? A-and why am I doing it?'_ But more importantly, how was I doing it? I did not have any skill relat-

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	5. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 5

**Night 10**

Waking up feeling confined and bound, I frowned. And at the same time, I tried to jog my memory, attempting to remember the last thing from yesterday. _'Oh. Right.'_

' _Evolution.'_

I struggled.

' _I remember selecting evolving into a Moth and then having an overpowering urge to spit around me?'_ I began squirming wildly. ' _Was that how nature worked? Or was that my instinct telling me what I had to do?'_ I wiggled my body as much as possible.

' _Will that happen every time I evolve?'_ Will I just know what I had to do when the time came?

Crack.

It seemed that the shell was finally cracking. Abandoning the thought process, I squirmed wildly and was finally able to come out of the shell.

Ting.

 **[Evolution completed. You have evolved into a Poisonous Forest Moth.]**

Ting.

 **[Evolution bonus of 16 HP has been added to your total Health Points. You have been completely healed.]**

Ting.

 **[Species Title, {Hungry}, lost.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Night Vision Lv.1} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Fly Lv.1} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Due to the title {Reincarnated}, skill {Fly Lv.1} has evolved into {Fly Lv.6}]**

I grinned. _'2 new skills and a 16 points of HP bonus? Wow! Just wow!'_

With excitement flooding my veins, I focused on the skill, **{Fly}**.

Ting.

 **[Gives the user ability to fly. With the increase in level, air time increases.]**

Pretty standard, all things considered. I focused on the next skill, **{Night Vision}**.

Ting.

 **[Allows the user to see in dark. With increase in level, ability to see in dark increases.]**

Again, pretty standard; nodding, I focused on my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 1]**

 **[HP: 121/121]**

 **[MP: -]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}]**

 **[Skills: {Crawl Lv.10}, {Molting Lv.3}, {Poison Resistance Lv.7}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.2}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Pain Resistance Lv.4}, {Trap Lv.2}, {Dig Lv.6}, {Ant's Will Lv.1}, {Observe Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Night Vision Lv.1}]**

 **[Spells:-]**

I scowled; it seemed that I still didn't have access to my magic. _'That will not do. It most certainly will not.'_ I focused on the option of MP.

Ting.

 **[Mana Points unavailable. Your species doesn't have access to Magic.]**

' _Fuck. You.'_ My scowl deepened. _'Fuck you and your dickless ancestors blue screen. I am not leaving this hole until I have magic back.'_

I closed my eyes and focused on myself.

Though I had been reincarnated and had a new body, even though an insect one, it was still no excuse for not having access to my magic. Magic had nothing to do with the human –or insect- bodies; instead, it had everything to do with souls.

' _Souls are the source of one's magic; not the body. And as I have been reincarnated, I have my soul. Very. Much. So.'_

' _I see no reason why I shouldn't have my magic. I. Should. Have. Access. To. Magic. There was no reasonable excuse for me not having my magic!'_

I took a deep breath in and slowly, ever so slowly, let it out. _'If this 'World' is not going to give me my magic back, then I will take it back myself.'_

Again I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.

And with it, I tried to let out my frustration, my irritation, my anger and my grief; my irritation and frustration with myself, for not having my magic; my anger for being reincarnated as an insect, for being betrayed by my wife, for dying itself.

And then my grief, my grief for being betrayed by someone I loved, for losing my love and for losing all those that were my family.

It did not help.

Not.

One.

Bit.

So I took another breath in, taking it as deep as I could, till my tiny chest started to ache. And then slowly, so slowly that my body fought me to let it leave faster, I let it out.

I repeated the process again and again; not willing to agree defeat and, at the same time, not willing to let go of my emotions. I struggled; against my emotions, against my stubbornness and against myself. I still wasn't willing to give up against either of my opponents.

I continued to struggle against them with all my might.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Meditate Lv.1} acquired.]**

The chime sounded in the background but I ignored it. _'All I want now is my magic. And my emotions. I do not need anything else; no blue screens, no chimes, no notifications; no, nothing.'_

I felt like I was being pulled in opposite directions; one wanting me to give in to my bullheadedness and let go of my emotions for my magic. Second one, on the other hand, wanted me to give in to my emotions and stop the exercise so I could hold onto my emotions, my grief, my anger, my frustrations and my irritation.

Then there was third side that was pulling me against both the previous ones; the one that wanted me to let go of none of those things; neither my emotions, nor my magic. This third side was me. I knew it was foolish, dangerous even, to keep my emotions but I couldn't just let go.

' _No I can't.'_

' _I just can't.'_

 _ **I.**_

 _ **Can't!**_

 _ **Let!**_

 _ **GO!**_

Ting.

[ **Skill {Meditate Lv.1} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.2}. While meditating MP regeneration will be increased by 2 MP/Hour.** ]

The struggle continued and each side continued to pull me in their direction while I tried to pull them to me. _'It isn't working. It isn't working! It isn't working! But I can't give up! No! Not now. Not ever!'_

I tried to ignore the struggle, I really did. But whenever I felt my resolve weakening, even a little bit, the two conflicting forces reminded me that they were there as they both tried to overwhelm me, trying to rip me apart. I felt myself stretch to my limits of my sanity and then beyond.

I wasn't sure if I was me anymore.

Ting.

[ **Skill {Meditate Lv.2} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.3}. While meditating MP regeneration will be increased by 3 MP/Hour.** ]

' _I can't take it! Not anymore!'_

It was too much. My yearnings were ripping me apart and I couldn't do anything about it. _'B-bu-but. B-but. But! But I can't just let go! I can't give in! No, I can't! I just can't give in!'_

I felt warmth from somewhere far away; it was my magic, I knew, I just knew. It wasn't anything else. How could it be? I was yearning for it after all. And I could feel it. It was calling me, asking me to come grasp it, embrace it; make it mine.

Ting.

[ **Skill {Meditate Lv.3} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.4}. While meditating MP regeneration will be increased by 4 MP/Hour.** ]

It was coming near me, I could feel it. Slowly and steadily it was coming near me. I knew. I focused on it and pulled at the two other conflicting with all my desire, my yearnings.

They were pulled. Towards me. I almost smiled and we drifted towards the warmth.

Ting.

 **[Title {Bullheaded} acquired.]**

 **[Title {Bullheaded} grants the skill, {Stubborn Lv.1}]**

We were drifting and so was my magic.

I could feel it coming close to me; more and more with each passing moment, and I could feel myself getting more and more close to it. _'Soon, so very soon, we will be close; so very close. I will be able to touch it then, embrace it. I will be able to grasp it in my hands and I will not let it go. Not now. Not ever.'_

I continued to drift and so did my magic. We were close, very close. I could almost feel it, touching me, embracing me. I embraced it bac-

I-I c-couldn't embrace it!

 **I-I cou-couldn't hold it!**

My yearnings were holding me back, pulling me from different sides; they were pulling at my hands! _'How have I not noticed that!? How!'_ I tried to pull at my yearnings, I really, really did, but they just pulled me back! Harder, each time.

They wouldn't let me embrace my magic! **But I couldn't just let go!**

My magic continued to drift!

 **It began to drift through me!**

I could feel it slipping past me, passing through me! I tried to hold it, I did! But I couldn't! My yearnings were holding my arms back! My emotions were holding me back! They wouldn't let me embrace my magic! But I couldn't just let go of my yearning! My emotions!

Of the two holding me back, one was my desire to have my magic back! It was what had brought my magic to me! I couldn't let it go! If I let it go, my magic would drift away faster than I could even react! I would never have my magic back if I let this one go! I couldn't let this one go! **NO! I couldn't!**

The other one holding me back was my desire to keep my emotions; my irritations, my frustrations, my anger, my rage and my grief! I couldn't let it go. It was what made me, me! It was my drive! It was me! If I let it go then I would let go my old life; I would let go of myself! I just couldn't do that! I couldn't let this one go! **NO! I couldn't!**

Ting.

[ **Skill {Stubborn Lv.1} has leveled up to {Stubborn Lv.2}. The negative modifier has decreased by one. All distractions will now be felt 9 times as stronger.** ]

I tried, again and again, to pull my magic in me as it passed though me, I did! But I couldn't! I was being held back! And I could do nothing about it! I felt my magic pass through me! _'NO! NO! Don't go! Come back! Come back to me! Please come back! Please come back to me!'_

I called and I called and I called but it drifted through me and continued to drift. I felt my heart wrench. I felt hate unlike any other bubble in me. I felt _disgust_ begin to take root in me. I felt all that and I felt even more.

…

…

But I didn't care.

I couldn't care less.

I had lost my magic.

Nothing I had done had let me keep my magic.

Nothing.

Ting.

 **[You have gained the title {Depressed}. All your skills will be 20% less effective.]**

I opened my eyes, defeated, alone and sad.

And so, very alone.

I couldn't get my magic.

 **I couldn't get my magic when I was so close.** **So. Very! CLOSE!**

Anger, no, not anger! Rage! Rage bubbled in me!

"GYAAAAAAAH!" I screeched as I thrashed around.

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

I hit my head on the ground in rage! I couldn't take it! Not when it was so close! So very close! I couldn't! **Why!** **Why could I not! WHY!**

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-4 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-2 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-1 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-5 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-4 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-1 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-5 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-2 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-3 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-1 HP]**

I gasped; my breaths coming in short.

My anger and my rage had faded away. It had faded away with each punishment I gave myself. That I so very much deserved.

And now all that was left was numbness. Cold numbness and nothing else.

I looked down at myself. My body was bruised and my limbs battered.

I looked at the cluster of notifications. I had gathered quite a bit in my rage.

There were quite a bit of windows notifying me of my HP loss. I checked my HP, it read **[HP: 85/121],** a total loss of 36 points to be precise.

There was time when I would have died at the loss of so much HP. Huh. It would have made me laugh at one point. Not now though.

I looked down at my body and frowned; I did that to myself.

And then there was the notification about **{Depressed}**. I scowled at that but focused on it nonetheless.

Ting.

 **[You allow your negativity to fester. All skills output is reduced by 20%.]**

My scowl deepened and I pursed my lips as my temper flared. _'I do not let my negativity fester. I just died! Died! Dead! Cold like Ice I was! DEAD for Good! What do you expect of me blue screen!_ _ **WHAT!**_ _To forget it and dance about because I was killed by newlywed wife! What do you expect me to do! Do you expect me to be fucking happy about it and throw a party! What. DO. YOU!_ _ **WANT!**_ _'_

I gasped.

I gasped and I panted.

My anger had gotten the better of me again. It had gotten better of me even through the cold numbness that had surrounded me earlier.

I took a breath in.

A deep one.

Then I took another.

And I repeated it.

I repeated it again and again.

Slowly, with every passing breadth, I calmed myself and dismissed the screen. It did not matter.

After it came the notification about the Title **[Bullheaded]** and the Skill **{Stubborn Lv.2}**. I focused on the skill, as it came first.

Ting.

 **[The skill stops all distractions from disturbing you as you focus. You won't feel pain, hunger, sleepiness or tiredness for as long as it works. But when it stops, all distractions will be felt x9 times as stronger and for as long as the skill had been active. No time limit.]**

A good skill, I guessed. But I was too tired emotionally and too battered physically to care. So I dismissed the screen and focused on the next one, the title **[Bullheaded].**

Ting.

 **[You work on your own terms, even when your terms are foolish. Grants skill {Stubborn Lv.1}]**

I scowled at the screen but I didn't have any energy left in me justify my choice. So, tiredly, I dismissed the screen and focused on the next ones. They were a bunch of notifications about a skill level up. I focused on the last one that notified about the skill leveling up to **{Meditate Lv.4}**.

Ting.

 **[MP regeneration, while meditating, increases by 4MP/Hour.]**

I didn't even have the energy to scowl at the screen. I did not have any MP, let alone MP regeneration. What good was this skill?

Closing the screen, I used **{Molting}** to heal the wounds that I had inflicted on myself and laid down to sleep. I was too emotionally exhausted to do anything else.

Ting.

 **[- 48 HP]**

* * *

 **Night 11**

I woke up, feeling exhausted, but a lot less tired than when the last time I had been awake.

Still, the first thing that I felt was the burn in my belly, which was threatening to melt off my stomach.

Way too hungry –and tired- to dig my way all the way to surface, I dug into the only thing edible in the hole, the cocoon shell out of which I had crawled out.

Ting.

 **[You have consumed The Gift.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]**

' _What. The. Heck. What the hell is this 'Gift'? And whose gift? And to whom? Was it my cocoon? If it was, then why did I gain a level for eating that bogus thing?'_

I shook my head in disappointment; so many questions, yet, so few answers.

A soft sigh escaped me. _I have way too important things to worry about, than to bother thinking about some random mysterious gift.'_ The foremost being, had I done the right thing? In keeping my emotions?

' _And In letting go of my magic?'_ A tiny thought whispered unhelpfully.

' _I. Didn't. Let. Go. Of. My. Magic.'_ I thought back hotly. _'I tried my best to keep it!'_

' _That's not true.'_ The same tiny thought seemed to whisper back. _'I let my magic go.'_

' _I. Did. Not. Let. Go. Of! My!_ _ **Magic!'**_ I screamed at the thought; not wanting it to be right. Not accepting that it was right.

' _I could have let go my emotions.'_ It whimpered from somewhere. It sounded tiny and afraid. Good. _'Is my self-pity more important than to me, than my magic?'_

' _I did not let go of my magic!'_ I growled, angry _. 'I had no choice!'_

' _I had a choice.'_ It murmured back, scared _. 'I just chose wrong.'_

' _That's not true. That's not true! THAT'S NOT TRUE!'_

' _But it is.'_ It whimpered back _. 'Even the blue screen had said that.'_

I sat there stunned and defeated.

That small thought was right, wasn't it? I had made the wrong decision. I had wanted to keep both my desires, but in trying to do so, I had inevitably let go of one of them; the most important one. I had let go of magic.

' _I-is it really my f-fault?'_

My emotions weren't more important than my magic; instead they were doing nothing but hurting me. I should have let go of them. But in my madness, I had forgotten that.

I sighed and closed my eyes as just a single word reverberated through my being, answering my question.

' _Yes.'_

Suppressing the thoughts that emerged, alongside that one word, I activated the skill **{Meditate}**.

With my thoughts pounding against my being, wanting to be heard, I took a deep breath and slowly let it go. With it, I tried to let go of my emotions, my sorrows and my grief.

It didn't work.

I resisted myself and took another deep breath in, as deep as I could, and slowly, ever so slowly, I let it go. And with it, I slowly began to let go of my emotions; my grief, my sorrow, my anger and my rage. I let it all go.

It was slow.

So very sluggish.

So incredibly, excruciatingly and horribly unhurried.

Yet, it was there.

And I felt it. I felt it move as it began to ebb away.

I felt as the emotions continued to slowly ebb away from me, leisurely drifting away from me; leaving me feeling emptier and vacant inside. It was like feeling life drip away from you, drop by drop. It left me feeling hollow and, surprisingly, unburned and unburdened.

Little by little, all my negativity ebbed away. It took a long fucking time but it did.

All my sorrows were gone. All my rage had vanished. The feeling of betrayal and treachery disappeared. The frustrations and the irritations departed. I felt like I had unloaded a great burden that I didn't know I had been carrying.

Ting.

[ **Skill {Meditate Lv.4} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.5}. While meditating MP regeneration will be increased by 5 MP/Hour.** ]

It was then that I felt it, my magic, drifting away from me. Going on and on in the direction opposite to me.

I yearned for it and, as if in answer, I was pulled; pulled towards it. This time there was no confusion, no pull from the other side, no struggle. It was a smooth transition from opening my eyes to moving, closer and closer to my magic, my movement fueled by my desires and yearning.

I inched closer, closer to my magic; free and unburdened, I moved closer. I stretched my hands, unbound by my yearnings, and I called. It didn't answer and continued to inch away. It continued to drift but so did I. ' _I will soon be close. I will soon be able to touch it; embrace it. I will soon be able to make it mine again.'_

I smiled; I was close, so close. And this time I will not let go of it. I. Will. Not!

Stretching my hands, as far as I could, I moved closer and my fingers brushed against the soft warmth that was my magic. My smiled blossomed into something much more and much pure as it warmth seemed into me. I embraced it, hugging it and not letting go. I held onto it, bringing it closer to me and making it mine.

Ting.

 **[Title {Depressed} has been lost. You are no longer affected by your negative emotions.]**

And then warmth blossomed in me; flowing through my veins, embracing me, making me it's.

Ting.

 **[Magic has been unlocked.]**

Ting.

 **[22 Points of Mana gained.]**

Ting.

 **[Title {Reincarnation} has come into effect.]**

Ting.

 **[Title gained, {Master of Death}.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired {Invisibility Lv.1}.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired {Rise Lv.1}.]**

Ting.

 **[Blood inherited Skill {Animagus Lv.1} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired {Beast Tamer Lv.1}.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired {Occlumens Lv.7}.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired {Leglimens Lv.2}.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired {Apparate Lv.6}.]**

Ting.

 **[Spell List Inherited.]**

Ting.

 **[Inherited Spell List: {Lumos Lv. Max}]**

 **[{Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Nox Lv.10}]**

 **[{Reparo Lv.9}, {Incendio Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}]**

 **[{Lumos Maximus Lv. 8}, {Confundo Lv. 8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8}, {Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv. 8}]**

 **[{Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}]**

 **[{Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}], {Diffindo Lv.6}]**

 **[{Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}]**

 **[{Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4},]**

 **[{Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}]**

 **[{Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}]**

 **[{Crucio Lv.1}]**

Ting.

 **[All Inherited Spells follow the following path.]**

 **[Level 1-4: Need a magical focus and large Mana Cost.]**

 **[Level 5-8: Need a** **magical** **focus but cost will bereduced.]**

 **[Level 9-Max: Do not need a** **magical** **focus.]**

I gaped at the numerous notifications, which popped up as soon as I gained my magic back, before a grin plastered itself on my face. Most of these skills were the one that I thought I had lost. But of course not! I didn't have my magic until now, so of course, I didn't have most of my skills!

My grin widened even more when I read the last 4 notifications. _'I can use magic without a wand!'_

I laughed. _'I can use magic without a wand! Without a wand!'_

That was awesome! Hands sown the best thing that happened to me since I was reborn here!

Still grinning, I checked out the list of spells. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. Though, at the moment, the spells I could use were few. There were a few offensive spells! _'Finally I have something to attack with.'_

Still, grinning I checked the cost of the spells. Lumos and Nox had a cost of 10 MP; Expelliarmus and Protego had the cost of 20 MP; Reparo, Incendio, Episkey, Immobulus and Aguamenti, 30 MP; Stupefy, 40 MP while Patronus charm had the cost of 50 MP. And so on.

My grin fell and a scowl took its place. I couldn't use most of these spells as I was now. I didn't even have enough MP!

Ting.

 **[Skill {Night Vision Lv.1} has leveled up to {Night Vision Lv.2}. Your ability to see in night has increased.]**

I dismissed the notification; it wasn't important at the moment.

What was important was improving my MP. And if it increased anything like HP, then I should get 1 MP increase per level. That meant I had to at least level up 10 times before I could use most of my usable spells; and more importantly, the spell, **{Episky Lv.9}.** _'If my hunch is right, this should be a very good skill.'_

I focused on the spell.

Ting.

 **[It heals flesh and ligaments but not bones; restores HP 5 times the skill level. Current restoration: 45 points of HP.]**

I grinned at the description. _'Finally a way to restore my HP!'_

Still grinning, I continued on with the rest of the notifications. Before I came across something that made me frown. Apparate, Leglimens and Occlumens were all listed as skills rather than spells though they all consumed 50 MP.

Why was that? Why were they listed as skills rather than spells? Was it because they did not need a focus? Was that it? But then, Leglimens could be cast by wand and was, usually, cast with a wand. I sighed. I did not know how this stupid blue screen worked.

Still sighing, I dropped that line of thought and focused on the next window, **{Beast tamer Lv. 1}.**

Ting.

 **[You can tame an un-evolved and non-sentient creature of level ((X-1)x10), where X is the Level of the skill. Current level of creature that can be tamed: Level 1.]**

Wha-How? How did I gain this skill? I never tamed any bea-

' _Oh. Buckbeak. Right. And maybe Hedwig too.'_ Next I focused on **{Animagus Lv.1}.**

Ting.

 **[Inherited Skill. Allows you to turn into your spirit animal. No time limit.]**

' _Eh? Inherited skill? What does that mean? And How did I get it? I don't remember ever trying to be an Animagus. Wai- Inherited? Does that mean I get it from my dad?'_ Shaking my head, I ignored the thought process. It was not like I was going to get an answer anyway.

With another thought, I focused on the next skill, the one granted by the title **[Master of Death],** **{Rise Lv.1}.**

Ting.

 **[Granted by the title, {Master of Death}. Allows you to call the wraiths of the Dead. Cost 200 MP per call. Wraith can only exist for X minutes, where X being the skill Level. Current time limit: 1 Minute.]**

I expected as much; it was nothing I didn't know. So I focused on the next skill, **{Invisibility Lv.1}.**

Ting.

 **[Granted by the title, {Master of Death}. Allows you to turn completely invisible. Cost 100 MP per activation. No time limit. Invisibility cannot be broken.]**

I gaped at the cost. For **{Rise}** I could understand the cost of 200 MP, after all, it was raising the dead. _'But a 100 MP cost for simple_ _ **{Invisibility}**_ _spell? That is just absurd! Just absurd! Even if it is True Invisibility, that cost is way too high! Why was the cost so fucking high?!'_

And just how am Suppose to use it anyway? I had a mere 21 points of MP. 21. Fucking. Points!

I tooke a deep breath in.

And gently let it out.

Calm down. No need to get angry. I will be able to use it when I evolve next time; only if my MP increases like my HP that is. _'Still, why is the cost so high? Is it because it can't be broken? But then what does that even mean?'_

Shaking my head at the absurdity, I dismissed the window and focused on the title, **{Master of Death}**.

Ting.

 **[Grants 2 skills {Invisibility Lv.1} and {Rise Lv.1}. Also, for each level gained in any Spell, 2 levels are added.]**

I gaped at the description! It was the next best thing to not needing the wand!

Still. What does the second part mean? Was the last part supposed to fill in for the Elder wand? The effects of the Stone and the Cloak had been replaced by the skills so it did make some kind of sense in a strange roundabout way. Still, it was way too good to be true.

But I grinned nonetheless. Magic was just so awesome!

I continued to read the descriptions of the rest of my skills when I remembered that I should probably go back to the surface. I frowned. Just how much time has passed? And how much HP did I have left after my tantrum and the subsequent use of **{Molting}**?

Not much I would guess.

Indeed, I had little more than half my HP left. Sighing, I called up my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race: Insect]**

 **[Level: 2]**

 **[HP: 74/122]**

 **[MP: 22/22]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor},** **{Bullheaded},** **{Master of Death}]**

 **[Skills: {Trap Lv.2}, {Poison Resistance Lv.7}, {Crawl Lv.10}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Pain Resistance Lv.4}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Dig Lv.6}, {Molting Lv.3}, {Survive Lv.2}, {Ant's Will Lv.1}, {Observe Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Night Vision Lv.2}, {Stubborn Lv.2}, {Meditate Lv.5}, {Animagus Lv.1}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Rise Lv.1}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Incendio Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

I gave my status an onceover and decided to sleep to recover the rest of my HP.

* * *

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P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	6. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 6

**Night 12**

I woke up feeling relaxed, and refreshed, for the first time in the past couple of days. It seemed that I finally had a full bar of HP.

' _Or not.'_ I sighed as I checked to make sure that was indeed the case. It was not. My HP only read, **[HP: 98/122].**

Shaking my head, I began to dig out of my little burrow.

It took me some time to come back to the ground; it seemed I had been more than a little enthusiastic in my digging and had dug deeper than I had intended. Anyway, it was not something of any consequence now.

Thus as a result of my continued digging, I finally resurfaced after removing the leaf from the entrance of the hideout.

Surprisingly, it was night that greeted me and not the shining rays of sun. I frowned. _'Why do I feel so refreshed in the night?_ _Is my species a nocturnal one?'_

As I was pondering about my newfound sensibilities for the night, the wind changed direction and passed beneath my wings.

I looked at them in surprise. I had wings. Honest to god wings. Ho- _'Of course, I have wings; I am a moth and moths can fly._ _Oh. That means I can fl-Me. I can fly. I can fly! I. Can! Fly!'_

I laughed. That was undoubtedly the best thing to happen to me since I died; trumping any and all other situations that I had faced since coming here.

Smiling, I lifted my wings and gave them an experimental swing. I was lifted off of the ground. I was fucking lifted off of the ground!

I would have cackled if I could! Even though I had never before flown in this body, I was flying now. Was the skill, **{Fly Lv.6},** coming into effect? If it was, thank you title **[Reincarnated]**. I have never been more thankful for you!

As I flew, I noticed a slight buzz around me, or better to say, emanating from me. I frowned; that would not do, absolutely not. It would be a sigh saying, 'Hey, tasty prey here; come and eat!' to any predator that had above average hearing.

I tried to nullify the sound but I ended up falling and hitting the ground instead.

Perplexed, I looked at my wings? _'Is the sound coming from the beating of my wings?'_ I frowned.

I tried again, but this time, instead of nullifying the sound I tried to minimize it. It took me quite some time but I did manage to soften the noise. Though, I had to trade my speed for that and the maximum height I could fly to. But, in my opinion, being alive was more important that being able to fly faster.

I sighed. Before I had died, such a statement would have been sacrilege to me but now that I had died, I had come to appreciate the value of life. Sighing again, I flew, searching for food. It seemed I no longer fed on leaves. Instead, my instincts told me that I should find flowers and bugs to feed on.

Searching, as I flew, my antennas caught the sweet fragrance of a flower shining in the moonlight. It was an odd sensation, feeling the scent rather than smelling it. I shook off the feeling and flew towards it. Gently landing on its petals, I crawled in.

As I was drinking the sweet nectar of the flower, I felt a disturbance and immediately activated the skill, **{Sensor};** all the while cursing myself for forgetting to activate the skill as soon I had left my hideout. The skill came through and I sensed an insect much larger than me, approaching me from the side.

At the same time, wind shifted and my antennas picked up the scent of a predator. I backed away from it at once, I had no intention of becoming insect chow. As my wings picked me off of the plant, a giant slicer-type-thingy passed from just where I had been.

My heart racing, I turned around. And there it was, a monstrosity that looked a lot like a praying mantis but wasn't. It was at least 10 times as big as me and had a body that looked like it was made out of wood rather than flesh.

I continued to fly and, out of the corner of my eye, kept glancing at the creature. Then, much to my astonishment, _and horror_ , the thing straightened up and revealed its wings.

' _That thing can fly!'_ I gaped _. 'I am so very dead!'_

And as I had expected, but had hoped to be wrong about, that monstrosity flapped its wings and flew towards me. It had decided that I was its prey and it did not want me to escape its scythe like clutches. Though, for whatever reason, it was slower than me.

Was it because it was bigger than me? Or was it because my **{Fly}** skill was at a higher level than its. I did not know the answer; I was just thankful for its slow speed.

As it neared me, I dropped all my attempts of making as less noise as possible and, instead, flew as fast as I could.

The creature kept on flying, and tried to beat its faster. Though I was still faster than it and escaped.

Ting.

 **[Skill acquired, {Scent Lv.1}]**

A sigh of relief escaped me as the mantis monster finally fell behind. Thanking my obsessive need to fly in my previous birth, I landed on a branch. Making sure that there were no surprises waiting for me this time, I focused on the skill.

Ting.

 **[Allows you to recognize and track a scent in the radius of 1m.]**

I wasn't surprised by the skill. Animals, after all, have a much better sense of smell than humans. Though, I had expected to get it when I evolved, along with the rest of my skills. I guess it was like the skill **{Sensor}** and had to be experienced before it can be gained.

Beating my wings, I was again airborne. I flew across the forest, enjoying the wind beneath my wings and the rustling of the sensors on my body. It was exhilarating; way better than flying on a broom. The two feelings weren't even close to one another. It was like I had been trying to see with a really bad prescription of glasses and, suddenly, I had the matched set.

It was just so _freeing_.

So I flew and flew until by body reminded me, with a slight burn in my stomach, which I needed to eat. Grimacing, I looked around with all my senses, which now included, my eyes, my antennas for the skill **{Scent}** and the sensors on my body for the skill **{Sensor}.**

Soon I zoomed in on a spider trying to build its net. It was small, almost a quarter my size and of a non-descript color. As I was observing, it, I remembered the skill that I had bought, though accidently and cursed myself for forgetting to use it on the mantis monstrosity.

I couldn't use it earlier because I didn't have any MP but I sure could do now. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Spider.]**

' _What. The .Hell.'_ Was that all?! I spent all my points –or whatever they were- on this useless thing! _'No! No way! This is bullshit! I call bullshit!'_

I fumed and bitched about for a while before I began to calm myself.

Still, I scowled as I calmed down and thought more deeply about the skill. There was no way such a useless thing could cost all my points of whatever it was that it was. It had to be good, _it just_ _had to be_. And I was not hoping about it. No. Not one bit.

Thus there was only one option left for me. I just have to level it up!

With that in mind, I began to use the skill, on everything my eyes fell on.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv.1} has leveled up to {Observe Lv.2}]**

Finally! I turned back to the spider. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Poisonous Spider.]**

I scowled. ' _That's all? Again? That's all that I get for using all of my MP to level up the stupid skill? Addition of one measly word?_ _Well. Fuck You Blue Screen. Fuck you sideways.'_

Still scowling I nodded. I had to level up this skill so that it could give me more information. That was the only course of option left for me.

' _Huh. I guess the title_ _ **[Stubborn]**_ _does suit me after all.'_

Shaking my head to clear it, I focused on the task at hand. For now, at least, I knew about the poison and make use of that information. I can get back into my routine of leveling up the sub-skill of poison resistance so that I can make more kinds of poisons.

Now, if only I knew how to hunt spiders.

So I flew around, trying to think of a way to kill the spider while incurring the least amount of HP loss possible; all that, without getting tangled in its web. Yeah, it was hard.

I came up with the idea to use the spell **{Expelliarmus}** but that would cost me 20 MP; MP that I would rather use in leveling up the damn **{Observe}.**

So, obviously, I dumped that plan; I was going to level up that **{Observe},** no matter what.

Finally, I decided to create some Mild-Poison, the plant one, and covered a leaf with it before putting that leaf on the spider when it was away from its net. Not the best plan, I know, but I could only come up with it, given my limitations.

So I did just that. I created the plant poison and bit a small leaf off of the plant and rubbed it over my body to collect as much poison on it as I could and then I bit into it again as I flapped my wings to the take off.

I lifted off the ground before wobbling in the air for a few moments and then crashing and tasting mud.

The leaf was way too heavy for me to fly with.

I grimaced. Still, I could not just abandon all my hard work that I had put in this plan. So with a sigh, I began dragging the leaf towards the spider that I wanted to hunt.

When I was satisfied with the distance between my prey and me, I activated another one of my skill, though with a grimace. I activated the skill, **{Ant's Will}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

 **[Strength has been doubled for the duration of two minutes.]**

Still grimacing at the HP loss, I lifted off of the ground, with the leaf in my mouth, much easily that I had before. Though, still wobbly, I controlled myself as best as I could and flew toward the spider that was still preparing its net.

Trying to be as silent as I could, I reached near it; though, by this point, I was pretty sure that it knew of my presence as it was a little skittish but wasn't threatened by my presence. _'Am I not a threat for it? Huh. Typical.'_

As I reached over the spider, I took a sudden plunge and hit the hanging spider with the poison covered leaf. I heard hiss of pain but continued the plunge and hit the ground.

Ting.

 **[- 10 HP]**

I felt the spider trying to wiggle out of the leaf but I used all of my weight and the strength from the Skill **{Ant's Will}** to keep it down. It continued to struggle but the forceful hit to the ground and the poison took their toll on it and it finally stopped moving.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

I sighed in relief. That had been hectic.

A small frown morphed on my face. I had gained just two levels, so that meant the spider was above me in food chain, but not all that much, and that I was just a minor threat to it. That explained its skittishness but over all non-threatened behavior when I had hovered over it.

Nodding to myself, I began to drag the leaf away from my food. As I returned after putting the leaf away, my eyes fell on spider and the delicious scent of fresh meat hit my antennas.

I crawled closer.

The tough spider carapace had cracked from when the spider had taken the involuntary dive with me and had hit the solid ground. The thus released scent tantalized my antennas but I didn't dare touch the spider now. This spider was poisonous and if I ate it on the ground, then who knew what effect it will have on me. So no, I had to eat it below the ground.

I tried to move it but it was heavy, it was no damn leaf. With the skill **{Ant's Will** }, I could move it but it would take a lot of my HP and I did not want to lose anymore of my HP than I had already lost; it took a lot of time to recover the damn thing.

With a sigh, I began to dig then and there. I didn't have much else of a choice, now did I?

Finishing digging up a hole, as fast as possible -as I did not want the scent of raw flesh to attract predators- I dragged the spider carcass in. After covering up the entrance with a leaf, I dug in the flesh. It tasted much better than I had thought it would, even though the scent had been hinting that it would be delicious.

As I finished eating the meat, I waited for the pain to hit. And after a few more minutes, it sure did.

Fuck! OWW!

It was like I had been hit with a blunt weapon, all over my body and then I had been hit again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

It was hell; much worse than what I had been experiencing with the plant poison. Whereas plant poison had been like a single bolt of pain, this felt like I had that bolt of pain racing all over my; that and many more such bolts, all racing and pacing over my body again and again. And again. And aga-

The pain lasted for quite some time but finally it was over and I was left gasping for my breath. I tried to take a few deep breaths but my body didn't understand that instruction and tried to reach for more breath while it exhaled.

It was hell.

Finally, I was able to take control of my body and nearly whimpered; I hadn't received any notification about either gaining or leveling up any skill, meaning that I had to go through that who knew how many times to just receive that!

Still taking deep breaths, I decided to rest for a few hours; I was in no condition to go out. So I closed my eyes and began to meditate.

In.

Hold.

Out.

In.

Hold.

Out.

Repeat.

Approximately two hours later, I heard a tell tale sound.

Ting.

 **[MP recovery complete. You have a full bar of MP.]**

It was already full? Hmm. **{Meditate}** at Level 5 gave an extra regeneration of 5MP/hour, so that meant my MP regeneration was 10 MP/Hour; pretty good, considering my HP regeneration which was an abysmal 2 HP/Hour.

Feeling much better than I had been originally, I crawled out of the hole and began searching for more spiders to hunt and raise my sub-skill but not before I used all of my MP to **{Observe}** the shit out of everything I saw. I wanted to Level up that skill as soon as possible.

Was it stupid to use up all of my MP for a single skill? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I don't know. All I know is that I have to level up this skill.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Stupidly stubborn.

 _I know_.

With the last notification, I had used up all of my 23 points of MP, even the two new points that I had gained with the level ups. Satisfied with my work, I moved onto the next thing on my to-do-list; I began looking for more of my new prey.

I didn't have to look too far to find more spiders. It seemed as if this place was somewhere near a spider colony or something because there were a lot of spiders here. I found my next prey soon enough; it was a spider that had just begun spinning its net.

I decided to use a different technique this time as I didn't want to use **{Ant's Will}** and lose my Hp for no good reason **.** Trying to make as little sound as possible, I landed on the branch that the spider was hanging from and crawled closer to where its thread was connected to the branch.

Ting.

 **[Skill gained, {Stealth Lv.1}]**

Reaching my destination, I began to secrete the plant poison, which was much stronger than my own, right above the spot where the thread connected to the branch. Soon my body was glistening from all the poison that I had secreted. I lowered my body and landed just next to the spot.

My poison, due to gravity, began to slide down of my body and started forming a puddle very near to the thread. I let the puddle form without changing anything. Slowly, the puddle began to grow as more and more of my poison slid down me.

I watched the puddle carefully and when it seemed like it would overflow and run everywhere, I gently, very gently, guided it to the thread. There, I put one of my many limbs, vertically, and stopped the movement of poison, letting it collect behind my limb.

Of course, the spider immediately sensed that not only had something -or someone- had touched its thread but that it was continuing to touch it and, being the stupid thing it was, it decided to investigate.

At that moment, I lifted my limb and let the massive drop of poison, which had collected behind my limb, slide down the thread. As soon as I was done with that, I began guiding the rest of the puddle down the thread and drop by drop, more and more of my poison began to slide down the thread.

I knew exactly when my poison hit the spider, as it began to shriek and struggle wildly, causing the thread to wave unstably and shake. As the shaking continued, some of the poison was thrown off but the rest continued to hit the spider and, the stupid thing that it was, it tried to struggle even more instead of just dropping down.

As the spider continued to struggle, the thread with which it was hanging, finally broke and the spider sped towards the ground. It hit the earth and didn't move further.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

I grinned. One hunt and not a single loss of HP. Now that's what I called being awesome!

Grinning, I dragged the carcass back to the new hole that I had made just for the purpose of eating these corpses. Covering up the entrance with a leaf, I dug in. The meat, as I had expected after last time, was delicious.

Finishing up the spider, I waited for the pain to kick in, which it sure did sooner rather than later. The bludgeoning pain hit me as if I had been hit with a hammer all over my body and, even though I had been expecting it, it somehow managed to surprise me.

It took its sweet time racing over my body and making me scream all sort of things, especially curse words, but it was finally over and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Ting.

 **[Sub-skill, {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 2}, has leveled up to become {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 3}. The effect of the poison has been decreased. A tinge.]**

I grinned at the screen in glee. I didn't have to gain it from the start! I gained one level for free! I laughed. Not caring why I skipped a level when I had not done so with any other skill.

Ting.

 **[Title gained {Masochist}]**

Eh?

Wha-!

I am not a-

Wha-!

Why would i-!

' _FUCK YOU BLUE SCREEN! I am not a masochist! No matter what your bluey-screeny self says I am not a masochist! I do not take pleasure in my pain! And certainly not any kind of erotic pleasure! Fuck you! I was grinning because I gained a level in the sub-skill not because I was enjoying pain you fucktard of a blue screen! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck your self in your bluey-self!'_

I ranted.

I raved.

And then I tried to calm myself. Taking a deep breath, somehow I controlled myself and focused on the title.

Ting.

 **[You take pleasure in your pain. The erotic kind. Grants the skill, {Masochism Lv.1}]**

' _Fuck you too blue screen, fuck you too.'_ Grumbling, I focused on the skill.

Ting.

 **[When in pain, HP regeneration increases by the level number. Current regeneration increase: 1HP/Hour.]**

Scowling, I dismissed the windows. Even though the skill obtained was good, it definitely wasn't worth having the title **{Masochist}** in my status.

I sighed. But nothing I could do about it now.

I crawled out of the hole and headed for my hideout. After all the excitement that I have had just in 4 hours today, I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. And now that I didn't have the title **{Hungry}** anymore, I could do so without feeling like my belly would burn itself up if I didn't eat.

So I did just that, I reached my hideout, dug around to make it fit my new size and then crawled in.

Ting.

 **[Skill, {Dig Lv.6} has leveled up to {Dig Lv.7}. Digging speed has increased.]**

Dismissing the screen, I used **{Survive}**.

Ting.

 **[-63 HP]**

Tired all the more now because of **{Survive}** , I called up my status screen.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 6]**

 **[HP: 43/126]**

 **[MP: 0/26]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Bullheaded}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}]**

 **[Skills: {Trap Lv.2}, {Poison Resistance Lv.7}, {Crawl Lv.10}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Pain Resistance Lv.4}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Dig Lv.7}, {Molting Lv.3}, {Survive Lv.2}, {Ant's Will Lv.2}, {Observe Lv.2}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Night Vision Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.2}, {Meditate Lv.5}, {Animagus Lv.1}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.1}, {Stealth Lv.1}, {Masochism Lv.1}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Incendio Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

I sighed; just 43 points of HP left. _'This skill is taking far more HP than it is worth._ _At least I have 20 hours to recuperate the loss._ ' With that I fell asleep.

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	7. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 7

A/N: Minor changes made to level up notification in chapter 6. Now the notification reads,[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted] instead of [You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted] due to the gain of magic.

* * *

Night 13

I woke up, feeling a lot better than when I had gone to sleep. Checking my HP, I forced back a grimace. It read, **[HP: 83/126]** ; 20 hours of rest and just 40 points of HP regeneration.

The measly amount of regenerated health, almost made me wish that I was in pain last night, so that **{Masochism}** would have kicked in, increasing my HP regeneration by 1 more point, thus giving me 20 more points of regeneration for all the hours that I had slept.

But then I remembered that the skill was due to the Title **[Masochist]** and scowled as my almost wish died an early death. _'I am not a masochist! And that's it! No Blue screen is going to tell me otherwise!'_

Scowling, I took a deep breath to calm myself and crawled out of my hideout. Beating my wings, I flew towards my hunting/training ground. Once I reached my destination, I began using **{Observe}** on everything that I hadn't observed before.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv.2} has leveled up to {Observe Lv.3}. Species name of the target is now available. Strongest attribute, no longer available.]**

I grinned; **{Observe}** leveled up and that too without even using the entirety of my HP. Finally something good! Though, the point that strongest attribute was no longer available was a downer, I didn't think much of it.

I used observe on the spider trying to spin its net.

Ting.

 **[Willow Spider. Poisonous.]**

Huh. So the spiders that I had been hunting were called Willow Spiders. I wonder why they got that particular name. Was it because they lived on willows? Did that mean there was water body nearby?

Dismissing the notification, I began hunting the spiders just like I had done last time; by trickling poison down their threads. I hunted 4 spiders this way and managed to gain 7 levels; the first, three spiders gave me 2 levels each but because of the decreasing utility, the last one had only given me 1 level.

I frowned; this decreasing experience gain was irritating. And infuriating. Still, there was some silver lining to this grey cloud. I had received a tell tale sound while I had been hunting.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Stealth Lv.1} has leveled up to {Stealth Lv.2}. The chance of others overlooking your presence has been increased to 12%]**

Dragging the corpses back to the hole that I had dug last night, I chomped down on my meaty breakfast. Heh.

I giggled.

That pun was bad. So very bad. And so I giggled.

Though, the amusement didn't last long because the pain from the poison hit me like a truck soon after I had finished my meal. It felt like a road roller was going over me, again and again, crushing me to bloody pulp and beyond to paste. All of my exoskeleton felt like it had turned to powder and my soft flesh felt like it had turned to minced meat. I would have screamed like a baby if I could.

It took me longer to get over the pain than I wanted it to take, and by the time it did, I was panting and gasping like there was no tomorrow.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 2} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 3}. Your resistance to this poison has increased. A little.]**

I grinned at the screen.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Masochism Lv.1} has leveled up to {Masochism Lv.2}. Extra HP regeneration, when in pain, has been increased to 2 HP/Hour.]**

I scowled. _'Fuck. You.'_

I wasn't grinning because I was in pain, I wa-

Wait; I don't care what this stupid blue screen says. Fuck you blue screen. Fuck you sideways with a thorny dick.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself –not that it helped me any- I left the hole and headed for my hideout. The hunt and the consequent fest had barely taken two hours today; meaning that I had 22 hours to recuperate from the **{Molting}**.

Settling in the hideout, I used molting.

Ting.

 **[-55 HP]**

As tiredness overcame me, I fell asleep.

* * *

Night 14

I woke up, feeling not much different, than what I had felt when I had woken up last night. And checking up my HP told me that just as much; that I was in same situation as last night, if not that I was in worse condition. My HP read, **[HP: 76/126]**.

I sighed; I was 50 point short of a complete HP bar. I thought about doing nothing all day but then decided against it; I'd rather not waste away my day doing nothing but sleep. I had to level up and evolve. I had no intention of remaining a moth more than I absolutely had to.

With my decision made, I crawled out of the hideout.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Crawl Lv.10} has leveled up to {Crawl Lv. Max} and has evolved into {Slide Lv.1}.]**

I was a little surprised at the skill level up but was, more than a little, surprised at the fact that a skill evolved; I did not know that skills could evolve. I focused on the new skill.

Ting.

 **[User slides across the surface at the speed of the skill {Crawl Lv. Max}.]**

Hmm. Nothing exciting. Though if I level up this skill, does that mean my speed would increase? Perhaps. It was definitely, something to experiment on later. Also, did this mean that all my skills would evolve on reaching level Max or level 11?

I hope they did, because that would be just splendid.

But given that it is me, which this relates to, so it was more than likely that someone somewhere would find a way to fuck me over.

A sigh escaped me and I shook my head to clear it of the useless negative thoughts. That was not the way to go if I wanted to survive in this world.

Deciding to continue on with my routine, I removed the leaf from the entrance and used **{Observe}** on everything that I hadn't used it on before.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

I sighed in disappointment as my MP dropped to zero with no level up notification. But truthfully, another level up of the skill, so soon after the last one, was just too good to be true.

Shaking my body to stretch it a little bit, I began flying towards my hunting ground. As soon as I was in the air, the annoying buzzing sound filled my ears and I scowled.

Trying to dampen the noise as much as I could, I used the skill **{Stealth}** , though to do so, I had to compromise on my flight speed and height of flight. But I was okay with that.

As I flew around, with **{Stealth}, {Sensor}** and **{Scent}** active, I was more than sure of my safety; after all, I was both hidden and well prepared for any and all predator that may come.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

Apparently that was _definitely_ not the case as I was taken by surprise, when a sticky-fleshy thing hit me in the air, just when I had been turning to observe the predator that I had sensed.

Baffled, I saw a frog sitting eagerly beneath a plant, recalling its tongue to which I was stuck. _'Oh my God!'_ I panicked. _'That thing is going to eat me and it is going to eat me alive! It will not wait to even kill me! It will crush me and eat me ALIVE! I have to do something! I have to do something NOW!'_

Not having much time to think before I was eaten alive, I did the only thing that came to my mind. I activated the skill **{Survive}**.

Ting.

 **[-63 HP]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Survive Lv.2} has leveled up to {Survive Lv.3}. Time Limit and HP Limit have both increased by 1. Current Time Limit: 3 minute. Current HP Limit: 3 HP]**

And then I was being crushed between two large walls that had all the intention in the word to pulverize me.

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 30 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 40 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 40 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

My mind went blank in pain and misery as I was crushed, again and again.

At the moment, tt did not matter that the HP loss was being negated, my exoskeleton was being crushed and my flesh was being minced. It felt like I had been put in meat grinder and was being prepared for dinner.

And even if that was not the case, **{Survive}** would soon end and then this frog would eat me if I didn't do anything by then. If I didn't kill it by then.

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 40 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 30 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

Not knowing any other way, I began to secrete both the poisons, which I could create, by the use of skill **{Poison creation}**. I secreted the poisons without stopping for even a moment; my life depended on me secreting those poisons. I alternated between secreting one and then secreting next but I continued secreting poisons. I could not stop. I did not stop.

I felt my poisons take hold as the frog shrieked and wailed before finally spitting me out. I watched in satisfaction as my predator struggled and withered against my poison. I watched the damned thing scream in pain, with unholy glee. It had a very satisfying feel to it; to watch your would be murderer die at your hands.

I saw it in its eyes when the realization, that it would die, dawned on it. And I saw when it's desperation to live, changed into desperation to kill its killer. I watched helplessly as the creature, still withering in pain, leaped and landed on me. It was trying to kill me with its weight as it died.

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 50 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

It tried to squash me again with its body.

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 40 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

It tried to crush me with the dwindling power that it had.

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 30 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

But all of it failed as it died and fell over me.

Ting.

 **[Due to the intervention of a skill, HP has been fixed at 3 points. 30 points of HP damage has been negated.]**

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.] x15**

In the state I was in, I couldn't even move a single muscle, let alone try crawling out of the carcass I was buried under. But it did not matter. I had to get out from beneath this carcass and I had to do it fast.

Soon the skill **{Survive}** would end and I did not know whether the pressure from frog's body would kill me or not. And even if I somehow survived that, there would be predators wanting to feast on the frog like the scorpion had feasted on snails; I did not want to be their side dish. I so did not.

' _I will survive.'_ It was not a statement. And it was not hope. It was a fact. An unchangeable and untouchable fact.

I rattled my brain for something to pop up but the best I could come up with was to use my new skill **{Slide};** but I wasn't sure how effective that would be. Not having any other option, I activated the skill.

A slimy liquid slowly oozed out, from the pulp and chunks that was my body, and formed a layer to cover me. And as soon as it was finished, the pressure from the corpse caused me slip out from under the corpse like mercury when it is being pressured from two sides.

I wanted to sigh in relief but the pain I was in did not let me do so. Every breath that I took caused me to flinch and every little movement caused me to feel my body in places I never knew existed. Slowly, I focused on the corpse and used **{Observe};** I wanted to know what had almost killed me.

Ting.

 **[Common Forest Frog.]**

Yet, I could not remain out in the open, not if I wanted to stay alive; I had to find shelter soon or had to make one.

As I was searching for somewhere, anywhere, to rest, my eyes fell on my pile of leaves my hideout was under. I almost cried, both in relief and in misery. I cried in relief because my home was right there in front of my eyes and I cried in misery because I didn't think I could make it.

I took a deep breath and flinched as pain roared through my body. I could not give up. I had to live. I had to reach my hideout. So with any and all the willpower that I had, I pushed myself and slid forward.

Pain.

Hurt.

Ache.

Those were all the things I knew and I knew nothing else. Yet I couldn't give up. I could not die.

Ting.

 **[The effect of the skill {Survive} has ended. Damage reduction has been restored to normal.]**

Ting.

 **[-1 HP]**

I stopped dead in my tracks. I should have had 18 HP; 3 left over from the skill **{Survive}** and 15 from all the level ups. And as I had just lost 1 HP, meaning that now I should have 17 HP.

My brain raced.

I was in pain, which meant that my HP regeneration should be 4HP/Hour now that **{Masochism}** was at level 2, meaning that I had 1 HP every 15 minutes. If I take it slow, and with breaks, I could reach my hideout without dying.

I smiled. There was a way.

Just to make sure, I checked my status and just as I had expected, my HP read, **[HP: 17/148]**. I frowned, 148 HP that mea-

 **[MP: 15/48]**

I could now, couldn't I?

I laughed.

Or at least tried to. What came out was a cough that seemed like a hundred year old malady.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Masochism Lv.2} has leveled up to {Masochism Lv.3}. Extra HP regeneration, when in pain, has been increased to 3 HP/Hour.]**

Dismissing the notification I focused on the task at hand. I had 15 MP left, and my MP regeneration was 5MP/hour. That meant that I didn't have to be in pain the whole day just to regain enough MP for **{Molting}.**

Once I reached the hideout, I could use **{Meditation}** and double up my regeneration and then use the spell **{Episkey}** to heal damage and restore my HP.

Slowly, I slide forward and immediately regretted it. My body had no shape right now and whenever it moved, things were misplaced, causing my world to fill with pain and hurt.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv.5} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv.6}. Your tolerance to pain has increased.]**

I hissed and slid forward. I could not put in words how happy I was that **{Crawl}** had evolved into **{Slide},** because if I didn't have **{Slide}** right now, there was no doubt in my mind about what would have happened; I wouldn't be moving at all, of that I was sure.

I slid and hurt, but I continued to slide because there was no other choice. If I didn't slide, I may as well kill myself.

Swallowing the lump of blood that rose in my throat, I flinched but I continued to slide.

Ting.

 **[-1 HP]**

I continued to slide. There was still enough HP that I could continue without hurting my current plan. So I continued to slide.

Pain. Hurt. Ache. Flinch. Cringe. Those were things that addled my mind and more than once I felt like I was losing it, that I was hallucinating. It was such a sweet fallacy; my friends and family waiting for me, telling me to give up and go to them.

But I knew it was all nothing but lies. My wife, my world, had killed me. There was no one waiting for me to give up. There was just no one waiting for me.

Ting.

 **[-1 HP]**

I paused this time. I had lost 3 HP by now, it was time for me recuperate and relax. But being in open as I was, I could only wait for 15 minutes for 1 HP to regenerate.

Soon enough, it was time to go and I flinched with pain as I began to slide; and thus continued the ritual of sliding and pausing and sliding and pausing until I finally reached my hideout. I had only 4 HP left when I finally settled in.

With pain raining on my entire being I closed my eyes and began to meditate. I took a deep breath in and gently let it out. I repeated the process again and again and again until I felt at peace with myself.

It took me way too long to achieve the peaceful state; given the pain I was in but I pushed through. It might have taken me hours to reach the state but when I did reach it, I did not want to let go; I knew and feared that there was nothing but pain and hurt waiting for me.

But meditation, and living, was not only about being at peace with myself; it was also about facing my fears. So with another breath, I let go of my peace, and accepted all the hurt and pain that was waiting for me.

Ting.

[ **Skill {Meditate Lv.5} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.6}. While meditating, MP regeneration will be increased by 6 MP/Hour.** ]

I was not surprised at the skill level up; truthfully, after what I had just done, I had been rather expecting it.

Ignoring my feelings on matter, I checked my HP and MP. My HP read, **[HP: 29/148]** while my MP read, **[MP: 44/48]**. I guess I had been out for 5 hours, out of which 4 hours I had been trying to meditate while only spending just one hour in the meditative trance.

As my HP regeneration was 5 HP/hour -due to the skill **{Masochism}** level 3 **,** which granted an additional 3HP/Hour- I had gained 25 HP in last 5 hours.

On the other hand, my MP hadn't gained any additional help for the initial 4 hours and thus had been only increased by 20 MP during that duration but when I had finally entered in the meditative trance, my MP regeneration had doubled to 10MP/hour, thus giving me a total of 30 MP for 5 hours.

Or so I guessed.

With a smile, I used the spell **{Episkey}** for a much needed relief **.**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

Ting.

 **[45 HP restored.]**

Immediately I felt the result. The pain dulled as the spell worked and my flesh healed. I wasn't surprised that my exoskeleton remained broken and hurt. After all, this spell didn't work on bones, just muscles and cartilages. Thus it also wouldn't work on my exoskeleton.

As more and more of my pain receded, I used the spell again.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

Ting.

 **[45 HP restored.]**

I sighed contently and checked my HP, it read, **[HP: 119/148]**. I sighed dejectedly, wishing that I had more MP to heal myself just one more time to completely restore the HP bar.

Still, I was satisfied. Almost all of my flesh wounds were healed and the pain from the flesh wounds had receded to a dull ache. The only thing that remained now was my exoskeleton which remained broken and hurt but that is what **{Molting}** was for.

With a dull smile, I activated the skill **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-55 HP.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Molting Lv.3} has leveled up to {Molting Lv.4}. Time required for the skill has been reduced by 10 minutes. Total time required: 5 Hours and 30 Minutes.]**

Ignoring the tiredness, I smiled and fell asleep.

* * *

Night 15

I woke up, feeling much better than last night; there was no pain anywhere and neither were there any subtle aches. I felt as good as new but with just a little tiredness. With a grin, I opened my status to check on my HP and MP. My HP read, **[HP: 100/148]** while my MP read, **[MP: 48/48]**.

It seemed I had been resting for 18 hours thus I had regained all of my MP and had regained 36 points of HP.

I shifted a little and heard a crack, a much distinctive one than what I had heard last time. I squirmed and shifted some more, which resulted in more and more cracks before I was finally free of exuviate. I turned around to face the shed shell; it looked as if it was made out of thick paper like the ones used in high quality notebooks.

I frowned. _'Just what is going on with my shell?'_

I shook my head and crawled out of the hideout. Meanwhile, knowing that I had more than enough MP, I used **{Episkey}** to fill up the rest of the HP bar.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[45 HP restored.]**

With a small smile, I checked my HP, it read, **[HP: 145/148]** while my MP read, **[MP: 28/48]**.

Beating my wings, I took to the air and this time I didn't bother with trying to decrease the bussing noise; I had been too busy with it to take notice of the real threat the last two times.

With **{Sensor}** and **{Scent}** active, I flew as high as I could but still tried to remain within the cover of the canopy. Reaching the hunting ground, I soon found my prey and used **{Observe}** on it.

Ting.

 **[Willow Spider. Poisonous.]**

Satisfied, I used **{Stealth}** and landed on the branch from which the spider was hanging. Activating the skill **{Slide}** , I slid towards my prey. Reaching it, I began secreting both of my poisons and let them collect into a puddle near my body.

Then when it was just about to overflow, I guided it to the thread with which the spider was hanging. The spider, obviously, sensed the movement and began retreating. Meanwhile I guided more and more of my poison down the thread.

The shriek that reached my ears, told me that my poison had hits mark. The spider began to struggle wildly, trying to shake off the poison, as more and more of it reached it. But its struggles had the unfortunate effect causing the thread to snap which had him rushing off for the ground.

The hit to ground must have caused massive damage to the spider as it tried to stand up a few times before finally giving in.

I frowned. I didn't receive any level up notification this time. Was the spider not enough to level me up? Have I leveled up that much?

The last time I had been getting 2 level ups from a single spider, but that had been the case when I had been in one digit levels. When I had hit the double digit levels, the level up from the single spider had been reduced to one. And it seemed that now when my level was in 20's, I wouldn't even get that.

I sighed. I would have to hunt stronger opponents if I wanted to level up faster. Which I did. But that would have to be later. For now I had to eat this spider and hunt more until my poison related sub-skill leveled up.

I dragged the spider corpse back to the hole, which I had dug in the hunting ground, and began to chomp down on the delicious spider flesh.

I was eating, and hunting, one spider at a time rather than collecting a large number in piles and eating them at once as I had done with the leaves. I had my reasons for this. First, I had to hunt these spiders, which was not as easy as chewing on the lead stems to make them fall. And second, the poison from the spiders was way stronger than the leaf one and I did not want to experience whatever would happen if I consumed a huge amount of it in one sitting. Thus small doses it was.

After the pain subsided from the poison attack, I went out and hunted down another spider, much like I had done with the previous one and this time, I did receive a notification.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

The rest of the day I hunted spiders until I received the notification I had been waiting for.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 3} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 4}. The effect of the poison has been decreased. A tinge.]**

It took 6 more spiders to finally get this notification, which, in turn, resulted in me gaining just 4 more levels. Now that slow of a level gain really pissed me off. So I decided that from tomorrow, I would hunt stronger spiders, because now I had enough MP to make use of the spell **{Incendio}.**

The hunt and the eating took almost 6 hours and as I did not want to sleep just yet –I had slept more than enough in the last two days to last me for a whole week- I decided to level up my **{Observe}**.

I used all 28 points of my MP on using **{Observe}** on every little thing that I didn't remember seeing before. It took some time –almost an hour- as I had to choose my target but soon all of my MP was over.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv.3} has leveled up to {Observe Lv.4}. You can now see the name of the species of the target and their strongest attribute.]**

I spent the rest of the 4 hours meditating, in the little hole, to regain my MP before using those points again on **{Observe}**. I really wanted to level the skill up.

After I used up all of my MP again, I returned back to my hideout and used **{Survive}**.

Ting.

 **[-76 HP]**

I sighed as tiredness overcame me but called up my status nonetheless.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 32]**

 **[HP: 76/152]**

 **[MP: 0/52]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Bullheaded}, {Survivor}, [Master of Death], [Masochist]]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.2}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.7}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.6}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.3}, {Observe Lv.4}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Pain Resistance Lv.5}, {Poison Resistance Lv.7}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.2}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.1}, {Stealth Lv.2}, {Stubborn Lv.3}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.2}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Incendio Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

Still miffed at the small amount of level gain, I dismissed the window and went to sleep.

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	8. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 8

A/N: Minor changes in the previous chapter. I had forgotten to put up the level up notification for the Skill **{Stealth}** , though I had listed it in the Status. Added that.

* * *

A/N 2: I have created a **twitter account** for all the things related to my writings. Not sure how successful it will be, but if you guys and gals have any questions related to this story, or for the other one, you can find me at **Man_Spectacled** or with the username **Reborn a Bug!** The display picture is of a cat wearing glasses.

Yes, very _imaginative_.

I know.

* * *

Night 16

* * *

I woke up feeling tired but then, that was nothing unusual now. I knew it had nothing to do with me or my body; instead, it had everything to do with an incomplete bar of HP that I was sporting most of the time.

Stretching my body, I checked my HP and, of course, it read, **[HP: 100/152]**.

Sighing, I used **{Episkey}.**

Ting.

 **[- 20 MP]**

Immediately I felt energy rushing into me and the memories of the aches disappear as my HP bar filled up; it now read, [ **HP: 145/152]**.

Shaking my head at the absurdity of Hit Points and Mana Points, I crawled out of the hideout and headed towards the spider hunting ground. Even though I had decided to hunt bigger monsters from today, I still had to hunt the spiders if I wanted to level up my sub-skill of poison resistance.

I really had no choice in the matter.

Grimacing at the thought of bored hunting, I activated the skills **{Sensor}** and **{Scent}** as I flew. Reaching the spiders, I used the rest 32 of my MP to **{Observe}** things I had never seen before.

I spent the next four hours killing and eating spiders with the same strategy that I have perfected over the last few days. I carefully landed on the branch from which they were handing and slid towards them. Reaching them I created a puddle of poison which I slowly guided down the thread. After that, the poison did the rest of the work and spider would be dead from the fall that it caused due to all its struggles.

It was as I was hunting my 8th spider that I heard a tell tale sound and looked up with confusion in my eyes; certainly the poison sub-skill couldn't have leveled now, I wasn't even consuming any poison right now. And sure enou-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Slide Lv.1} has leveled up to {Slide Lv.2}. Slide speed has increased to 2x the speed of {Crawl Lv. Max}.]**

Dismissing the notification, I hunted and ate the spiders until I received a very specific notification.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 4} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 5}. Your resistance to this poison has increased. A bit.]**

I grimaced. It had taken me 12 spiders to level up the skill; something which had consumed 4 hours and resulted in just 4 level ups. The gain margin from the spiders was decreasing more and more with each passing day.

But that was not all of my worries.

There was another side to all this gorging on spider meat. My moth body was not meant for eating the amount of meat that I was consuming on a daily basis and, as a result, I was growing big, very big. By now, I was already the size of an adult moth and I had not reached even level 50!

It worried me to think about what would have happen as I continued to consume more and more due to this poison related sub-skill.

With a sigh, I checked my MP and HP; while my HP had completely recovered in the 4 hour period, my MP had just recovered 20 points.

With the intention of recovering the rest of my MP, I crawled back in the hole in the hunting ground and closed my eyes to meditate. After having spent approximately three hours in the burrow meditating, I finally opened my eyes and found my MP bar full.

I smiled. At least there were some good things in life; albeit small and inconsequential, but good nonetheless.

Crawling out of the hole, I beat my wings and slowly made my way deeper into the territory that I thought belonged to spiders. But before that, I activated **{Stealth}** and tried to be as quiet as I could, but, unlike last time, I did not let it distract me from my surroundings.

As I moved deeper and deeper into the spider territory, I kept my eyes sharp and twitched at every disturbance that **{Sensor}** picked up and at every scent that my antennas detected. I was, also, very careful of the fact this supposedly was the spider territory and thus was filled with spider-nets that I probably might not see.

As I flew, my sensor detected a disturbance and I turned towards it to find a rather small spider, barely half my size. Though what caught my attention were its bright colors of red and blue that glistened brightly amongst the rest of greens and browns.

I flew towards it and my antennas caught hold of its scent, causing me stop dead in my tracks my heart racing.

Its scent was unlike anything that I had encountered before; even the frog that had almost killed me had nothing on this tiny spider. Its scent was alarmingly predatory and poisonous, sending my senses haywire. It was, as if, I was being drowned in a scent that wanted to devour me as it watched me suffer from its poisons in glee.

My heart stuttered; forgetting its beat but I took a deep breath to settle myself.

Carefully, I used **{Observe}** on it.

Ting.

 **[Black Mother Spider. Poisonous.]**

I frowned. Besides the name, it was the same description as the spider I usually hunted.

I took a deep breath and decided to take a chance; after all, the usual willow spiders weren't any match for me now. Carefully, I made my way towards the branch on which the spider was hanging. I saw it twitch before it continued on with its net building.

Activating the skill **{Slide}** , I made my way towards the point from where it was hanging, so as to make as less vibrations as possible. I planned on using the same strategy that I always used when hunting spiders. Reaching my destination, I began secreting the poisons and soon there was a puddle beneath me of both the poisons that I could produce.

With a smile, I guided the puddle when it about to overflow and touched the base of the tread. But, as soon as I touched the thread, the spider hanging down from it stopped moving, for a moment, before racing towards me.

It was nothing unusual and I began guiding more and more poison down the thread as the spider continued its race towards me. At that moment, my poison touched the spider and I heard nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

My heart raced as I saw the spider shrug off my poison as if it was nothing but water. I tried to guide more poison down the thread but, in my haste, I touched the actual thread, causing my limb to get stuck. My heart almost stopped as I pulled and pulled on my limb but to no avail.

It would just not get unstuck.

I tried using slide, as my limb was already covered in goo, which provided enough lubrication to get my hand unstuck. By now the spider was almost upon me but I could not let it reach me so I leapt off of the branch and started beating my wings midair.

As I regained my bearings, I felt something hit me and get stuck before I felt a pull. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I turned around and saw the spider had a thread connecting me with it, which it was pulling.

At that moment, the spider lowered its belly and another thread shot out of it and raced towards me. It hit me in the chest and the pull multiplied! _'Oh fuck!'_

I flapped my wings, faster and faster, trying to outdo the spider in strength but I felt myself failing and slowly being dragged towards the spider! 'This will not happen! This will absolutely not happen!'

Without any other plan in my mind, I activated the skill, **{Ant's Will}!**

Ting.

 **[- 10 HP]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Ant's Will Lv.2} has leveled up to {Ant's Will Lv.3}. Multiplier/Time Duration has increased by 1. Total effect: Strength x3. Time Duration: 2 minutes.]**

I felt the power run through my veins, more than usual this time, but I ignored that tiny tidbit as I had more pressing matters to deal with; matters such as saving my life!

But all good the skill did was stopping my downward decent! I was still not powerful enough to break off the thread!

At that moment I saw the spider touch its belly down to the bark and attach the thread to it. With both the ends secure, the spider started walking up the thread and I began panicking! My death was literally climbing up to me!

I tried to beat my wings faster but it was all to no avail as it did nothing. And then I remembered the whole reason that I thought I could be relatively safe here! My magic! Which meant the spell **{Incendio}**!

As quickly as I could, I activated the spell.

Ting.

 **[- 30 MP]**

I ball of fire formed in front of me, its heat uncomfortable yet welcome; this was the only thing that could save my life now! As the ball grew, it spat out a massive flame down the thread and I immediately felt free as the thread, which had been binding me, was burnt off.

I flew higher and higher, celebrating my freedom, before I dared to turn back to look what was left of the spider.

The branch that I had been on was blackened and singed, yet alive; it hadn't suffered any major damage, even though a few of its leaves were still on fire and most of the rest were nothing but ash. The net that spider was building was nowhere to be seen and same was the case with the spider.

I hadn't received any notification or level up prompt, which meant to me that the spider was still alive somewhere. I do not know how that could be possible. How could that spider survive a massive flame to the face but somehow it had; of that I was sure.

I looked around and searched for the spider with my skills. I felt a disturbance as a familiar scent hit my antennas.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Scent Lv. 2} has leveled up to {Scent Lv. 3}. Radius for recognition and tracking of a scent has increased to 3 m.]**

I dismissed the window without even looking at it. It wasn't a level up notification and that was all I cared about when it came to notifications, at the moment, as that would mean that the spider had died. I followed the directions that my skills were telling me and there it was; hanging down from another branch. Not even a little bit singed from my attack.

It must have let the thread go when it either saw, or felt, the heat from the flame and had then attached itself to another branch, as it fell, with the help if its thread. I turned my eyes around and continued to fly.

I flew back as fast as I could. That had been dangerous! Very, very dangerous! _'FUCK! Why do I do stupid things?! Why!'_

If I didn't have my magic or the presence of mind that I had, I would have been spider chow! It was not something I wanted to be! That spider had been strong; way too strong! _'I should have listened to my instincts and my senses! They had been warning me against going after it! But no! I had to be an idiot!'_

Finally I was out of the spider territory and I let out a sigh of relief. I was safe. Somehow, and in some way, I was alive.

I flew around until I reached the hole in the hunting ground and crawled in. I took a few deep breaths to settle down my pacing heart. _'That was too much of an adventure and too much of a reckless act. I have lived through it somehow but I will not always. I don't have my friends to help me through my problems here. I am alone, all alone, and I have to be more careful if I want to continue living.'_

I took another deep breath and slowly let it out. Now was the time to let out the fear I had been feeling earlier, to let out the panic. And that's what I did. I let out a screech of primal fear and frustration, of feeling out of depth, of feeling like a fish out of water!

"SSSCCCCRRRREEEEEEEE! SCREEEEE! SCREEE! SCCCCRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I gasped and tried to breathe. But breathe was not something that was coming. I tried again and again but all felt was emptiness! I struggled and struggled but all I clutched was nothing! My lungs hurt from the lack of air and my chest ached from the struggles of my heart.

But then, at that moment, something changed as my breath began to calm down and my heart began to slow its pace.

I tried again and more and more of my breath continued to come. I continued to try and with each attempt my heart continued to slow its pace and let more air in. My struggles calmed down and finally my heart didn't feel like it would break out of my chest.

I took a deep breath and gently let it out. My panic attack had passed.

I sat there, patiently -and afraid- as I thought about what to do next, after all, I still had 5 hours of night left. With a somewhat racing heart, I decided to try to level up **{Observe}** but to do that I needed a full bar of MP while I had just 20 points.

This meant that I had to meditate. Something that I decided was a good idea after the near death experience and the panic attack that followed it.

It took me a little more than three hours to fill my MP bar –something which I was glad for as it gave me enough time to recuperate- and soon as that was done, I was out the burrow. I could not hole up and hide myself from the world every time I was attacked. If I did that, I wouldn't survive!

I _had_ to survive.

This was wild. And in wild only the strong prevailed. And strong did not hide in their little hidey-holes, afraid and cowering. They conquered their fears. Thus I was out again; away from the safety of my hideout.

Cautiously, I decided to fly around the area that I hadn't traversed before, as finding unknown things to use observe on, was getting difficult around the spider hunting ground.

I travelled south of my location and came across a clearing. With all my skills active and my senses alert, I landed on a flower and began using **{Observe}.**

It took me approximately an hour to finish using the skill and by the time I was finished, moon had travelled across the sky and was beginning to finish its nightly journey. With my goal achieved, I headed back to my hideout.

Crawling in, I settled down and used **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[- 85 HP]**

As tiredness rushed in me, I gaped at the number sketched on the floating blue screen. It way more than half of my HP! It wasn't supposed to be that much! It was supposed to be half or less than my HP! Why was it so much? Why had it increa-

Wait.

The cost of **{Molting}** depended upon my size, if I remembered correctly. Did this mean that if my size continued to increase, it would take more and more of my HP? But if my size increased, then would not my HP?

I sighed; this made no sense. Feeling more than a little frustrated, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Night 17

* * *

I woke up feeling a lot more tired than usual. Frowning, I checked my HP and sure enough, it read, **[HP: 61/156]**.

I scowled, remembering the confusion from the last night regarding the unusually large amount of HP loss for the skill **{Molting},** but, then the itch from the exuviate reminded that I had better things to do such as removing the extremely itchy shell that was left behind from the use of the said skill **.**

With a sigh, I used the spell **{Episkey}** , which I was very glad to have, as I did not want a repeat of the frog incident.

At the moment, I didn't know what I would have done without it; either I would have gone out hunting with barely more than half of my HP or I would have to just rested on alternate days to completely recover my HP.

I was very glad I didn't have to chose from either of those options.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

As the spell activated, I felt the tiredness leave and the hollow aches disappear. I sighed happily and checked my HP, it read, **[HP: 105/156]**.

Crawling out of the hideout I flew towards the spider hunting ground and began the daily ritual of hunting, eating and screaming in pain to level up the poison sub-skill.

As I continued to hunt and eat, I became more and more full, yet, as I hadn't received the notification which I was waiting for, I continued to eat. The more I ate, the more my body became heavy and the more my stomach felt stressed and stretched.

As I continued to hunt and eat, I began to feel bloated and heavy and yet I hadn't received any notification. I felt my body refuse to move under the strain of how much I had eaten and finally I settled down, unable to hunt.

I barfed.

I didn't know if moths could vomit or not but I sure did want to right now because, no matter what, I had to eat more to get that notification and level up my poison related sub-skill; especially after the encounter with that spider.

And it was not just that spider that was apparently immune to my poison. I hadn't forgotten the scorpion that lived under the tree where I used to feed as a caterpillar; the one that had shrugged off my poison like it was nothing.

I needed stronger stuff. I had to get it if I wanted to survive in this forest.

Which I will.

Crawling out of the hole –which took far more energy than it should have- I slid as far as I could from the hole and vomited. The bile and flesh that came out of my mouth and they tasted just as disgusting, coming up, as it had tasted delicious when it had gone done.

Panting and gasping, I tried to breath and settle myself. When my breath and heart finally settled, I crawled back to the hole and finished the rest of the corpse. How I did that, I did not know. It didn't even taste the damned thing. I just ate.

Feeling more than a little disgusted of my actions –and of me- I continued to hunt and eat until I heard a particular noise.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv.5} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv.6}. Your resistance to this poison has increased.]**

I sighed. Today it had taken me 18 spiders to level up this little skill, and tomorrow, it would just take me even more spiders; all this loss of life, of those poor spiders, just for the sake of one skill of mine. I grimaced and dropped that line of thought. For I had to survive.

And this was the wild.

The skill level up had taken 5 hours and had resulted in 5 level ups causing me to reach Level 41.

Beating my wings, I took to the air and thought about what to do for the rest of the day. I could, very obviously, not venture deeper into the spider territory; that would just get me killed. I had been extremely lucky to escape unharmed last time.

But if I wanted to level up faster, I would have to find better prey as already the return on my kills was one third; for each three kills I was getting one level, and now, even that seemed to be decreasing.

With nothing better to do, I headed towards the clearing I had found yesterday to level up **{Observe}.**

Reaching the clearing, I again landed on the same flower as yesterday and began to use the skill. I had barely used one fourth of my MP whe-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv. 4} has leveled up to {Observe Lv. 5}. The level of the Target has been made available.]**

I grinned. ' _Now this is what I call progression!_ '

Wanting to test the leveled up skill, I used it on passing Ant.

Ting.

 **[Soldier Red Ant. Strength.]**

 **[Lv. 68]**

' _Finally! Finally I can see the levels!'_ I laughed. _'Maybe at higher levels, I can even see the target's HP and MP!'_ I laughed in happiness. I couldn't wait for the skill to level up even more!

I read the screen again and wondered what the "Strength" was. _'Usually in its place poisonous is written. Is it the special stat or something? For spiders it is "Poisonous" because they were poisonous. Does the "Strength" here signify that the special stat of this soldier ant is its strength?'_

Confused at the possibility, I used the rest of my MP on leveling up **{Observe}** but, unsurprisingly, I did not get another notification.

Flapping my wings, I took to the air and made my way towards the hideout. I planned on meditating to recover my MP and using that time to come up with something else to do during the rest of the day.

Reaching the hideout, I crawled in and settled comfortably before closing my eyes to meditate.

It took me 6 hours to completely recover the rest of my MP and when I came out of my hidey hole, the moon was almost ready to finish its journey across the sky. Flapping my wings, I made my way towards the clearing.

Reaching my destination, I began using **{Observe}** and soon enough my MP was over.

Flapping my wings, I again took to air and headed back to the hideout. Reaching the burrow, I settled in and checked my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 41]**

 **[HP: 129/161]**

 **[MP: 0/61]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.8}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.6}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.3}, {Observe Lv.5}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.7}, {Poison Creation Lv.4}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.3}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.2}, {Stealth Lv.2}, {Stubborn Lv.3}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.2}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Incendio Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

Glancing at my HP, I sighed and used **{Survive}.**

Ting.

 **[-80 HP]**

Shaking my head at the 49 HP that was left, I fell asleep.

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	9. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 9

A/N: I have created a **twitter account** for all the things related to my writings. Not sure how successful it will be, but if you guys and gals have any questions related to this story, or for the other one, you can find me at-the-rate **Man_Spectacled** or with the username **Reborn a Bug!** The display picture is of a cat wearing glasses.

Yes, very _imaginative_.

I know.

* * *

Night 18

* * *

I woke up, feeling a lot more tired than usual.

Frowning, I tried to puzzle out the reason for this abnormality before remembering that I had just 49 HP left last night after I had used **{Survive}**. I checked my status and, sure enough, my HP read, **[HP: 73/161]** while my MP read, **[MP: 60/61].**

I grimaced; my MP and HP regenerations were low, very low, and now, my MP had reached a limit where even a 12 hours sleep wouldn't recover it completely. A grimace settled on my insect-oid face. _'I really wish there is a way to improve my regeneration permanently.'_ I sighed. _'And that I find it soon._ '

Knowing that I could not go out in the wild, with not even half of my HP, I used the spell **{Episkey}.**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Even with the spell, I had just recovered 45 points of HP, so I used it again.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

This twice use of the healing spell, left me with just 20 HP, thus I decided to meditate to recover the 40 MP that I had lost in healing myself. It took me a little more than 4 hours to recover the MP loss but, by that time, I was good to go.

Crawling out of my hideout, I flew towards the spider hunting ground and began my –now- nightly ritual of hunting the Willow Spiders, eating them and then suffering from their poison. The hunting part was almost boring now, now that I had perfected the spider hunting technique; though the eating part was still enjoyable.

What was not enjoyable was the suffering that came after the eating part. It was not enjoyable in the least no matter what some blue screen said!

It was after I had gorged on my 11th spider that I felt the same heaviness that I had felt yesterday; the same laziness, nausea and the inability to move.

With more effort than it should have required, I crawled out of the hole and moved as far I could to vomit my hearts out; it kept coming on and on without stopping and when it finally did stop, it left such a bitter taste that I did not want to eat anymore.

Eating, which had been one of the pleasures in my last life, now had become a tiresome chore; one that I didn't want to do anymore. Still, it was not like I could stop; I couldn't if I wanted to survive in the Wild.

And I _will_ to survive

Feeling more disgusted than I was ready to admit, I choked back the gag and hunted more of the spiders to eat. I hunted and I ate and I suffered yet no notification popped up in my line of vision. It was as if the notification was testing my resolve. Or something.

I wasn't really sure at this point.

So I continued to gorge; I just couldn't _not_. I had to eat more to level up my poison related sub-skill if I wanted to hunt higher ranked monsters. Which I did. I very much did. Hunting these lowly spiders was not only boring but also almost painfully unrewarding.

I sighed.

After a long time, the much awaited sub-skill level up notification popped up in existence. It just took 12 more spiders and one more too-full-to-walk-vomit to finally materialize and when it did, I almost cried in happiness.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 6} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 7}. The effect of the poison has been decreased.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Resistance Lv.7} has leveled up to {Poison Resistance Lv.8}. You can gain up to 8 sub-resistance skills.]**

Dismissing the screens, I sighed with a smile. At least, I gained another level in the main **{Poison Resistance}** skill.

I grimaced when I noticed the position of the moon; I had almost no time left. It had taken me 7 hours to hunt, eat and suffer 22 spiders. And after the 4 hours I had spend meditating in the morning, I obviously didn't have much time left.

All of the spiders, by the way, had earned me just 5 levels. I shook my head in disappointment; the decreasing utility of spiders was increasingly annoying.

With nothing better to do, I headed towards the clearing to try to level up **{Observe}.** Landing on the same flower that I always did –which, btw, hadn't wilted yet- I began using the skill.

As I slowly made my way down my MP, my mind brought up the problem that I had to face today. I had to spend four hours meditating just to restore my MP because I had spent all my MP on restoring my HP. And if I didn't do things differently tonight, I will end up doing the same thing tomorrow.

So as my MP trickled away, I thought about ways to avoid the time leeching meditation. The very obvious thing to do would be to heal myself already in the night so that I don't have to do that tomorrow. But if I do that, I won't be able to spend MP on **{Observe},** which was strict no-no.

I had to level up **{Observe}**.

Maybe a compromise would be effective. I could try restoring my MP once tonight and restore the rest tomorrow; this way I could cut down the meditation time from 4 hours to two. _'Hmm, that could work.'_

Deciding to follow that very course of action, I stopped using **{Observe}** when I had just 20 points of MP left and headed to the hideout.

Crawling in, I settled down and used **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-90 HP]**

I cringed at the HP loss; that was a lot of HP to lose in one sitting. Grimacing, I used {Episkey} to restore my little bit of my MP.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

 **[45 HP Restored.]**

I sighed and closed my eyes. I needed to sleep.

* * *

Night 19

* * *

I woke up, with my body itching all over the place; something that I had come to associate with the skill **{Molting}.** The itching, in itself, wasn't bad but when combined with the tiredness that came with having an incomplete bar of HP, it turned into a rather petulant annoyance.

With a tired sigh, I checked my HP and MP; my HP read, **[HP: 135/166]** while my MP read, **[MP: 60/66]**.

Irritated, I hastily used the spell, **{Episkey}** , to restore my HP bar and to cast away the tiredness and lethargy that had seeped in me over the passage of the day while I slept.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

As sluggishness left my body due to a complete bar of HP, I began to struggle and wiggle to free myself from the clutches of my shed skin. It was, weirdly, a tiresome process. My exuviate had grown harder with each increase in level of the skill.

I heaved a sigh of relief as exuviate was finally peeled off of my body. _'Ah, it feels so good.'_

Finally out of my itchy shell, I closed my eyes to meditate; I still had 26 MP to recover.

It took me a little less than three hours to have my MP bar back at its initial capacity, something which annoyed me no end as it meant that plan to save time –unlike yesterday- hadn't worked as well as I had hoped it would.

Sure, it had saved me 2 extra hours of meditation but, that had turned out be nothing, as I had to meditate for almost three hours nonetheless because my MP capacity had increased and because my MP regeneration was pitiful.

Grumbling, I crawled out of the hideout and tried to look at the bright side of things. At least, I didn't spend 5 hours doing nothing but meditation, which I would have had to if I hadn't restored my HP once last night. Thank god for small mercies.

Flapping my wings, I took to the air, and reached the spider hunting ground.

I had planned something different for toady; well, not all that different, just a tad bit.

After the time it had taken me to hunt all the spiders last night, I was hoping to reduce the number of spider kills today by consuming two spiders at a time instead of one. I had been eating one spider at a time to be cautious of their poison, as it was a strong one, but now that my resistance to it had increased quite a bit, I believed, I could handle more than one spider at a time.

I really didn't want to be proven wrong this time.

So that was what I did. I hunted two spiders and ate them together. It changed the effects of poison quite a bit; it impacted me much more strongly than before and lasted for a longer time too.

As I continued to gorge on spider meat, I again hit the same roadblock I had been hitting for the past two days. Grimacing, I made my way out of the hole that I had been devouring spiders in and made it as far as possible; my lethargy making it almost impossible to move.

Once I was sure I could move no more, I began to vomit. I vomited the life out of me before I was finally done.

Tired and panting from the heave-ho, I stumbled and sat dow-

Ting.

 **[Title {Gourmand} gained.]**

 **[Skill {Overdose Lv.1} gained.]**

' _Wha-!'_

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I focused on the new title.

Ting.

 **[You will do anything to enjoy more and more food. Grants skill {Overdose Lv.1}]**

I scowled _. 'I do not consume and then vomit food because it is delicious –though, spider meat is indeed delicious but that is not the point- I do so because I wanted to level up my skill! Fucking blue screen.'_

Still scowling, I focused on the skill.

Ting.

 **[Allows you to consume and store food within your body, without digesting it. The weight of the stored food is evenly distributed across your body. Current weight limit: 0/1000 g.]**

I blinked.

And then I blinked again.

' _Is it really saying what I think it is saying? Do I really not have to worry anymore about eating more food than my body can store? Will there be no more sloppiness and lethargy after devouring more food than I can possibly eat?'_

As my thoughts finally settled down, I let out a laugh! _'Oh this is good, so good! I can eat more and more and will never have to worry about starving! Oh Poison resistance I am so coming for you!'_

Grinning like loon, I turned around and began hunting spiders. As I was sneaking up on my 15th spide-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Stealth Lv. 2} has leveled up to {Stealth Lv. 3}. The chance of others overlooking your presence has been increased to 13%.]**

Dismissing the notification, I continued with my hunt. It took me considerably less spiders than it had taken me last night –just 17- before I heard the tell tale sound.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 7} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 8}. Your resistance to this poison has increased.]**

Dismissing the notification, I turned to look at the moon; it's calm illumination enveloped and soothed me.

I sighed. It had taken me almost 6 hours to hunt the 17 spiders and all that I had gained from it were just 4 levels, which, by the way, did cause me reach level 50.

With the goal of leveling up the poison resistance achieved, I took to air and flew towards the clearing. Landing on the flower I usually landed on -the beautiful white flower which was shaped like a chalice and had blue stems hanging out of it- I frowned. _'Why is the flower still alive? Shouldn't it have died by now?'_

Ignoring the weird flower, I began using **{Observe}** to level it up but, just like last night, I left enough MP to use **{Episkey}** once later in the night.

I just begun making my way down my MP bar whe-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv. 5} has leveled up to {Observe Lv. 6}. You can now see the HP of the target.]**

Grinning, I continued using the skill on things that I hadn't used it on before. Though the results varied a little, for which I was incredibly grateful; it proved that my decision to level up the skill was indeed a good one. The skill had now indeed begun to showcase the HP of the living targets.

When I had 20 MP left, I took to air again and headed back to the hideout, even though I had one hour left but, the thing was, I had nothing left to do.

Reaching the hideout, I crawled in before settling in. Grimacing, I used **{Survive}.**

Ting.

 **[-85 HP]**

As weariness overcame me, I used **{Episkey}.**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Satisfied that it was best I could do at the moment, I closed my eyes, ready to sleep.

* * *

Night 20

* * *

I woke up feeling mostly refreshed. Surprised at that turn of events, I checked my HP, and sure enough, it read, **[HP: 156/170]** while my MP read, **[MP: 65/70].**

I frowned. _'65 MP? Shouldn't it be 60? Hmm. Oh. Right. I had an extra hour of sleep.'_

Satisfied with my current HP level, I decided to forego the ritual of restoring my HP -as it was just 14 points short of full bar- and crawled out of the hideout. Stretching to get rid of the last bit of sluggishness, I flapped my wings and took to air for my morning ritual.

Reaching the spider hunting ground, I decided to spice up the things a little bit more, especially after last night's success, and decided to eat three spiders at a time.

This obviously increased the pain level quite considerably but, at the same time, the time span of the effect decreased. _'I guess the resistance is finally coming into play, huh.'_

Anyway, I was creeping up on my 12th spider by sliding down the branc-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Slide Lv. 2} has leveled up to {Slide Lv. 3}. Slide speed has increased to 3x the speed of {Crawl Lv. Max}.]**

Dismissing the notification, I continued with my hunt. It was when I had spent 4 hours hunting the spiders and had eaten 15 of them, that, I received the notific-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 8} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 9}. Your resistance to this poison had increased.]**

Dismissing the notification, I grimaced. I had gained just 3 levels from the spiders. _'Am I really that much above them in food chain? How? I am just a moth!'_

Grumbling in confusion, I settled down and tried to think about what to do with the rest of the day; after all, I had 8 hours of night left.

I had two options, I felt. First, I could –obviously- empty my MP bar by using observe and then use the next 7 hours to meditate and restore it, only to empty it again so that I could level up **{Observe}.** Or the second option of using that time to do something else; what that something else was, I had no idea at the moment.

The choice would been easy, so very easy, if it didn't involve sitting down for _7 fucking hours_ with eyes closed and basically doing nothing. Thus I chose the second option; I did not want to be in a cave doing nothing for the rest of the day.

Taking off, I decided to explore the areas that I hadn't touched before; I headed to the territory where I expected the water body to be.

I kept constant vigilance with both my skills, **{Scent}** and **{Sensor}** , active. I wanted to use **{Stealth}** but decided against it after remembering the last few times I had used it.

Cautiously, I flew towards the territory from where my antennas detected the most humidity. Twitching at every disturbance, I hurried through the foliage. It took me some time but I finally found the water boy; it was a river that ran through the forest.

Carefully, I soared near the water and took the sight in. There were a lot of animals and creatures around the river; some lived there while the rest where there just for a drink to quench their respective thirsts.

As I was looking around, my eyes fell on a particular species of frog that I killed before. Sure, it had almost killed me to do so, but I had killed it in the end. And sure, I did not have any previous plans for doing so but that was not the point. Shut up brain.

My poison had worked on that frog before, so that was not the problem; the problem was getting the poison in its system and keep doing that until it was dead. I, for sure, did not want to use the same method as the last time; I had no intention of feeling every part of my body broken and hurt. I was not a masochist. Thank you very much.

I thought about my skill and if there were any that could help me here; I came up with nothing that would just work on its own. Sure, I could use **{Incendio}** to barbeque it but the problem would be keeping it in one place.

I had no doubt that the frog was highly agile -it had to be if it was anything like Trevor- thus not for even a second did I believe that I could hit it while it was free; I wasn't stupid. Crazy maybe; for trying to hunt a creature that was my predator, but not stupid.

So if I wanted to hunt it, I had to do something to keep it in one place and the only thing that I could think of, which could do that, was trapping it. But in the body of a moth, there wasn't much that I could do. After all, it was more than a little hard to function without hands, fingers and opposable thumbs.

I sighed and again thought over my skill list, trying to find something of use. ' _Hmm, I do have_ _ **{Dig}**_ _.'_ I could use it. Yes, that could work. I would have to dig a hole, big enough -and deep enough- to hold the frog and when it would fall into that, it would be barbeque time!

But the problem would be making sure that the stupid frog falls into the trap; for that to happen, I would have to lure it somehow, which I didn't want to do considering what happened last time when it got too close for comfort.

I grimaced; that was not a particularly good memory. _'If only I had something I could use as a lure. Like Snape had.'_

I frowned; theoretically, I could use Patronus charm –I had enough MP to cast it after all- but I seriously doubted that a frog, which was the size of an adult human's feet, would be lured by a hulking spiritual stag. _'If only I had something small…hmm.'_

A plan formed in my mind.

I could use the spell **{Lumos}** to cast a small glowing ball of light but I didn't know whether that light ball would be attached to me –as it was when cast with a wand- or would it be freely floating. And even if it was floating freely, I wasn't sure I could control it enough –or at all- to use it as a lure. _'Well, I would never know if I won't even try.'_

With another sigh, I flew back to my where my hideout was. If I was going to try experimenting with my magic; I was not going to do in an area filled with creatures that would consider me a tasty snack. No thank you; as I said, I wasn't stupid.

Reaching back to the hideout, I landed carefully near the entrance but instead of crawling in, I sat there and used the spell, **{Lumos}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 MP]**

A small ball of light appeared right in front of my face; blinding me and ruining my night vision.

' _Stupid fucking ball!_ '

Blinking furiously, I tried to direct the light away, which it thankfully did. I tried to maneuver it around, making it bump and jump, rush and float; I even tried moving it in other complex motions, all of which the ball of light did.

I grinned; this was good. I finally had my bait. Now I just have to find my prey. But before that, I needed to shut off the light; it would attract unwanted attention otherwise. _'Nox.'_

Ting.

 **[-10 MP]**

I scowled. _'This is ridiculous. Why does it cost me MP to call off a spell? How does that even work? Wha-! Why! Just why!'_

Annoyed, I flapped my wings and took to air as I flew towards the river. Entering the unknown territory I carefully made my way to where I had seen the cluster of frogs. Noticing that they were still in same position, I backed off.

If I wanted to hunt the frogs, I needed my trap to be somewhere nearby their location but not at just their doorstep; that would be just asking for trouble. I wanted to hunt down the stray frog that roamed a little too far, not the entire bunch.

For the next hour, I searched for the perfect location; one that was neither too far, nor too close from the location of frogs and was nowhere in immediate vicinity of any other predator that might be lured by the smell of burnt flesh.

After an hour of search I sighed and decided on a spot that would have to do, even though it was far from perfect; there were predators everywhere. With a grimace, I began to dig. I was so glad for the skill **{Dig},** at that moment, because in my moth body, I had a small mouth and if I didn't have the skill, it would taken me a lot of time to dig a frog size hole.

Still, it took me a decent amount of time as I had to dig constantly for 5 hours. Finishing up the job, I fought over what to do. _'Should I fill my trap with poison? Or should I not? Because if I do fill my trap with poison and then the frog does not die, the poison can hinder my flames by acting as a wet coat that will protect my prey. I do not want that.'_

' _But if I don't use it, I will be willfully neglecting my biggest advantage; which is just a stupid thing to do.'_ More than a little confused, I decided to go with poison. If it didn't kill the frog and acted as a deterrent to my fire, I could use the spell a second time; because I could do so now, now that I have restored the entirety of my MP bar –all 73 points of it- in the last 5 hours.

With 73 MP, I could use **{Incendio}** twice and **{Lumos}** once; though it would lead me being unable to snuff out the ball of light as I wouldn't be able to turn it off because I wouldn't have enough MP to use the spell **{Nox};** which, again, was ridiculous.

Huffing, I began to collect leaves to layer the bottom of the pit so that my poison wasn't just absorbed by the mud. It took a lot of time to collect individual leaves and then set them in specific positions so that they could hold my poison. It was gut wrenching work in my current body, let me tell you, as it consumed another 2 hours.

With the leaves layering the bottom of the pit, I settled down and began secreting, as much as I could, both the poisons I was capable of creating. Just as I was finishing up wi-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Creation Lv.4} has leveled up to {Poison Creation Lv.5}. You can create up to 5 poisons now.]**

Dismissing the screen, I flew out and began hiding the entrance with leaves; after all, no one –not even stupid frogs- would jump into an open hole.

With my trap complete, I again used the spell **{Lumos}** , and created my lure, the ball of light.

Ting.

 **[-10 MP]**

Flying up high, I slowly guided the ball to where a lone frog had wandered off to. As it floated eerily and inched towards the frog, I was reminded of Snape. Scowling, I tried to wipe that thought off of my mind. I did not need unpleasant distractions right now.

As the ball of light, my lure, came in line of sight of the frog, it –obviously- caught attention of its intended target.

The frog jumped and landed a little closer to the light. Tilting its head, it tried to understand what it was that was floating in front of it. Was it food? Was it not food? It didn't seem to be able to decide. To help the poor creature, I guided the light a little closer to the prey; trying to entice its curiosity.

And sure enough, I had its attention. The frog jumped again, this time landing a lot closer than before. I quickly, guided the light away from it and towards the trap. It tilted its head before, like lightning, its tongue shot out of its mouth towards the light.

I almost didn't have time to react and its tongue managed to graze the immaterial ball of light, before I finally managed to recoil it away from the frog. The frog jumped and tried to hit the light again but I successfully guided the light away and towards the trap.

The cat and mouse chase continued and slowly, the frog inched closer and closer towards the trap. Meanwhile, whenever the frog's tongue leaped out of its mouth, I tried to judge its reach and by the time my prey finally arrived at the trap, I had a rough idea.

Guiding the light past the trap, I positioned it so that it would only be in frog's reach if my prey tried from just above the trap. Positioning the light, I waited. And just as I had expected, the frog jumped and landed on the pile of leaves, which hid the pitfall, before falling down the hole.

There was thud and a splash before a screech echoed from down the hole. My poison had begun its work.

Cautiously, I made my way towards the trap, as the frog continued to hiss and screech.

I was afraid that the noise it was making would attract other predators. Deciding to end this once and for all, I reached to the edge of the hole and used the spell, **{Incendio}.**

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

A small ball of heat formed in front of my face before flames after flames leapt out of it and raced down the hole. The screeching increased, incredibly, as the fire hit the frog before they turned to screams of pain. After a moment, it abruptly came to stop.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

Cutting off the fire spell, I counted the notifications as I dismissed them. I had leveled up 12 times from a single frog which, while incredible by itself, was still less than what the first frog had given me, which had been 15 levels. I guessed it was the decreasing marginal utility coming into effect; again.

Flying down the trap, I landed carefully next to the barbequed frog; it was still smoking. _'Well there goes my plan of eating it.'_

Frowning, I made my way out of the trap and landed just beside the entrance. While my dinner cooled down, I decided to level up **{Observe}** ; after all, why waste time and MP. But before that, I had one thing to do. _'Nox.'_

Ting.

 **[-10 MP]**

Shaking my head at the ridiculous cost, I began making my way down my MP bar.

As I was finishing through my MP-

' _Oh Fuck.'_

-I cursed, remembering that I had to save 20 points for **{Episkey}** , which I couldn't now because I didn't have enough MP. Cursing furiously for being stupid, I emptied the rest of the MP bar; there was no point saving MP now.

Hoping that the frog had cooled down enough to eat, I flew down the hole and, indeed, it was no longer smoking. Smiling, I began my dinner.

It took me some time to finish the frog and once I was done, I checked my newest skill, **{Overdose}** , or more precisely how much have I consumed; it read, **[Current limit: 445/1000g]**. _'Huh. That frog just weighed 445 grams?'_

Dismissing the thought, I flew out of the trap and made my way directly for the hideout.

Crawling in, I settled down before using **{Molting}.**

Ting.

 **[-95 HP]**

Grimacing at the HP loss, and at my stupidity for forgetting to save MP for a quick **{Episkey}** , I called up my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 65]**

 **[HP: 90/185]**

 **[MP: 0/85]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Bullheaded}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.8}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.6}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.3}, {Observe Lv.6}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.8}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.3}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.3}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.2}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Incendio Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

Sighing at the thought of how much MP I would be losing tomorrow morning, I fell asleep.

* * *

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* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	10. Arc 1 - Shaken - Chapter 10

Night 21

* * *

I woke up feeling a lot more tired than I had when I had woken up yesterday. I frowned at the newfound weariness, which I beginning to discover each and every night when I woke up, before I remembered my stupidity that had caused the current mess.

I scowled.

' _I cannot repeat the same mistake again, not after knowing what a mess the following night will, which will be tonight for my last night's idiocy. I am sure that tonight will be a waste, just because I couldn't be bothered to remember to save a few MP points for a healing spell.'_

Not expecting anything good, I checked my HP and MP; my HP read **[HP: 114/185]** while my MP read, **[MP: 60/85].**

I grimaced.

Though the 114 points of HP was a good amount, especially considering the amount I had started with when I had been a caterpillar, it was still a little more than half of my current amount of HP. And as I learnt the hard way, it is never a good idea to hunt with an incomplete bar of HP.

I sighed.

' _I will have to use_ _ **{Episkey}**_ _twice now to restore my HP completely, which will leave my MP bar almost completely empty which, in turn, will leave me meditating for the rest of the day! Uhh! All this nonsense because of one stupid mistake!'_

With a heavy sigh of disappointment –mostly in myself- I used the spell. _'Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

I grimaced as the itch from exuviate –which I had due to the use of skill **{Molting}** last night- made itself known and I began to struggle to get out of my shed shell post haste. Once out of the shell, I checked my MP -it read, unsurprisingly, **[MP: 20/85]-** causing me to shake my head in disappointment.

With just 20 MP remaining, I headed to the spider hunting ground for the daily ritual of hunting, eating and suffering. Though, tonight, I decided to increase the spider consumption rate from 3 at a time to 4 at once.

This had the exact opposite effect of what I was envisioning.

Instead of pain increasing manifolds, the pain that I felt today was much less excruciating than what I had felt last night. _'Thank goodness that the high sub-skill poison resistance is finally coming into effect.'_

Though there still was one thing; with each new poison sub-skill gained, I noticed, that the effect of the next sub-skill began manifesting later than the previous one. For example, when I had been leveling up poison resistance against the plant poison, the resistance had kicked in at around sub-skill level of around 5 or 6 but, this time, it had kicked in at level 8.

' _Does this mean that when I gain another sub-skill for poison resistance, it won't kick in until even higher level? Oh this is going to stink.'_

Dismissing the thought with a grimace, I continued with my hunting. It was when I was at my 18th spider th-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 9} has leveled up to {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv. 10}. Your resistance to this poison has increased greatly.]**

I heaved a sigh of relief before scowling; this was getting tedious _. 'Even though I hunted 18 spiders –which consumed a good 5 hours by the way- I only gained 3 levels. 3 fucking levels! Can anyone imagine that! I mean anyone! Even you, you fucking pervert of a blue screen!'_

Dismissing the screen I grimaced. I had 45 MP, which was nowhere near enough for what I needed to hunt the frogs. This left me with only one option; meditating the next 4 hours to restore my MP.

I grimaced, again. And because I had nothing else to do, I decided to do just that.

Flapping my wings, I took to the air and flew towards the hideout. Reaching the entrance, I crawled in before settling comfortably to meditate. The next four hours passed comfortably and when I finally opened my eyes, I had 85 points of MP; not a complete bar of MP, but enough for what I needed.

Crawling out, I flew towards the river; I still had three hours and I planned on making an efficient use of them.

Reaching the river, I tried to find a frog that had staggered away from the group, just like last night, but I couldn't find any. There were no frogs that were just wandering around; they were all within an area that, I expected, was their territory. _'Did the last night's hunt cause this? That can't be. Frogs don't have enough intelligence for that sort of thing. '_

Still, I lingered patiently, waiting for just one of them to step out of the territory. Unfortunately –or fortunately, from the frogs' perspective- none of them did. And just like that more than 2 hours passed, with me just sitting and waiting.

I scowled; this was useless. And if I continued like this, I wouldn't even be able to use **{Observe}** tonight. I needed to know when I should cut my losses, and currently, I felt I should do just that; cut my losses. There was no point in wasting all my time waiting, and gaining nothing, when I can use this time to level up **{Observe}**.

With a purpose in my mind, I flew back to the clearing that I had found a few days ago and landed on the same flower that I always did. _'It's still alive? Shouldn't it have died by now? Observe._ '

Ting.

 **[Moon Glow]**

 **[A spirit flower that attracts the creatures affected by moon.]**

I frowned. _'What the hell? There are flowers like these in the world? And is it attracting me too? Is this the reason that I always land on it rather than anything else in this clearing? But. No. That can't be it. I would feel if something was affecting my mind. I think.'_

I turned to face the moon. I did not feel anything special at night; nor did I feel anything when I faced the moon. I didn't think I was affected by the flower; my landing on it must not be anything else than coincidence.

Without another thought, I dismissed the current line of thinking; I had more important things to worry about.

Focusing on the things around me, I began using **{Observe},** to level up the skill. Though this time, I was careful about not repeating the last night's mistake. So when I had 20 MP left, I stopped using the skill and flew back to the hideout.

Crawling in, I settled down and used **{Survive}**.

Ting.

 **[-94 HP]**

As weariness began claiming me and my body became heavy suddenly, I used the spell, **{Episkey}.**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Night 22

* * *

I woke up, feeling a lot more relaxed than I had felt in a long time. Stretching, I checked my HP and MP; my HP read, **[HP: 163/188]** while my MP read, **[MP: 60/88].**

Crawling out of the hideout, I flew to the spider hunting ground and began the daily ritual of hunting, eating and suffering. _'Hopefully, I will be doing it for the last time tonight.'_

Reaching my destination, I began hunting and just like last night, instead of eating them directly afterwards, I began collecting the corpses. Though, I did one thing different from last night, instead of eating 4 spiders at a time, I began eating 5 spiders at a time.

This did not have any major effect on poison; something which, from what I guessed, was due to the high level of my resistance to it. The pain that poison caused me was nowhere near as strong as it had been just a few days ago and it didn't last very long either.

Thus, I continued to hunt, eat and suffer the spider and their poison. By the time I was panting from the aftereffects of the poison for the 4th time –which was 6 hours since morning- I had leveled up 3 times. As usual, the low utility of spiders was annoyi-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison: Bug: Resistance Lv.10} has leveled up to reach the maximum level and has become {Poison: Bug: Resistance: Lv. Max}]**

Ting.

 **[Sub-skill acquired {Poison Creation Lv.5: Available: Poison: Bug: Willow Spider}]**

All my grievances were forgotten as a smile morphed on my face. _'Finally! Finally all my sufferings have borne fruit! I can finally create a poison that didn't have 'weak' or 'mild' or some such nonsense attached to it!'_

I laughed.

I was happy, I truly was. I had wished for so long that I had an effective poison; I had not wished for a particularly strong one, just an effective one. And now I had one! I finally had one!

I grinned.

Now I just wished for a good method of injecting my poison, instead of just letting some creature eat me. Getting eaten was not fun, not one bit.

Still smiling, I flapped my wings and flew towards the river where I had setup my trap. I hoped tonight will not be the same as last night because, even though I had 6 hours to hunt, I did not want to waste all that time waiting.

Setting up the trap, I found a place that hid my presence well enough and waited patiently. This time, as I had a new poison at my disposal, I had filled it with two of my best poisons: the bug poison that I had earned from spiders and the plant poison.

Sitting silently, I waited and waited and waited as time began to pass and yet I waited. For some reason, none of the frogs were venturing out of their territory.

4 Hours passed as I kept my silent vigil and yet none of the frogs showed up.

A lot of other animals and creatures passed during my vigil, all new and exotic, but I ignored them with practiced ease; I could not lose focus. Though, it did pain me a little to let them go. They would have been a very good target for leveling up my **{Observe}.** But I couldn't afford to lose my MP; not when I might need it later.

As I patiently kept my watch, finally a frog stepped out of the territory. With baited breath, I waited for it to move a little farther; just a bit more. I couldn't try to lure it when it was that close to its territory. So with unblinking eyes, I watched.

Warily, the frog jumped, though just a short distance. It tilted head; listening and I checked my skill **{Stealth}**. It jumped again, as if testing waters, before jumping farther away from the territory of the frogs.

Cautiously, I used the spell, **{Lumos}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 MP]**

A ball of soft light slowly materialized in front of my face, blinding me and, again, ruining, my night vision. Shaking my head to clear the blind spots, I slowly began to guide the light towards the frog.

I watched as the soft light caught the attention of the frog and how its head tilted. I waited for it to move, to make its move, which it soon did. It jumped, closer to the light and farther away from the rest of its kind.

I, slowly, guided the light away from it and towards the trap that I had earlier set up. The frog jumped up and followed it. At the same time, my antennas and the skill **{Scent}** picked up the overwhelming scent of frogs and just more frogs due to the wind being downhill, which caused the scent from the frog territory to be all around me.

I continued to guide the light towards the trap and watched with rapt attention as the frog kept following. My skill, **{Sensor}** picked up disturbance from the direction opposite to the frog and I turned to face the new threat. _'Is it more frogs searching for this wandering soul?'_ I did not know.

My eyes searched for something, anything, but I spotted nothing out of ordinary. My antennas picked up scent of more frogs but that was just wind changing directions; I dismissed that thought.

Focusing my attention back to the target, I watched as my prey contemplated following the light even more. I stilled the moving light, enticing the creature; yet, it didn't move. Frowning, I guided the light back in the range of the frog and immediately, faster than lightning, its tongue lashed out.

I was ready though, and guided the light out of the way and began guiding it back to the trap, hoping that the frog had been tempted. I turned back to the frog and, sure enough, it jumped as it followed the light.

Slowly, I maneuvered the light closer and closer to the trap with my prey following it carefully. Knowing the range of the frog, I positioned the light just so that the frog had to jump on the trap.

I watched eagerly as the frog jumped and landed on the pile of leaves covering the trap before promptly falling in. I smiled and flied down to the trap as the shrieks of pain echoed from down the hole.

HP/MP: 183/78

As I reached the trap, I sensed the disturbance from earlier and immediately turned around. But it was already too late and a pink fleshy thing was racing towards me at a speed I could not avoid.

Ting.

 **[-20 HP]**

Wha-!

What!

How?!

There were three frogs -all the size of an adult human's feet- with their eyes fixated on me. And with one down the trap, this made up a total of 4 frogs.

' _Wh-where had all these new frogs come from!? W-why hadn't I sensed them!?'_ I panicked before a realization hit me in the face with all the strength of a rampaging truck. _'Where these those frogs that I had sensed but dismissed as wind changing directions? OH. MY. GOD. They were, weren't they! How did I fuck up again!? Oh I did fuck up again! I so fucked up!'_

But this was not the time. This was not the time for panicking and cursing myself. Time for that would be later, when I had escaped these slimy things! Now I had to save myself before I became frog chow! Which was just as disgusting as it sounded!

I tried to use **{Slide}** to unstick myself, but to no effect and, in the meantime, the tongue began to retract. _'OH NO. I was NOT going in that mouth. If I did, I will NOT escape alive. Which I just can't do!'_

I _will_ survive.

With my mind reeling, I used **{Incendio}.**

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 163/48

A ball of fire formed in front of my face before a flame raced down the tongue holding onto me. I was immediately released but I did not let go, I flew towards the frog whose tongue had been sticking onto me and forced my advantage with flames pouring down onto the frog.

It jumped back, trying to escape me, but I pursued. If I wanted to escape alive, I would have to make a point and I was going to make that point by roasting this frog.

Ting.

 **[-20 HP]**

HP/MP: 143/48

Another tongue hit me then and I immediately whirled around, but it didn't stick to me; it was like a slap to back of my head. By the time I could redirect the flames, the tongue was long gone and so was the frog that I had been pursuing.

Ting.

 **[-20 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 HP]**

HP/MP: 83/48

I whirled around, trying to escape the tongues hitting me again and again. And I did so, the flame that were in front of me, whirled around with me.

' _I wish I had wand; I wish it so damn hard! If I had a wand I would have directed the flames however I wished! I would have guided the flames into forming a protective shield around me! I would have done so much more!'_

' _Instead I was stuck in this body of a moth fighting frogs! Frogs! I was fighting frogs, and not even toads, for my fucking life! What good was_ _ **{Incendio}**_ _if I couldn't use it as I had used to! What good was it being a level 9 spe-'_

Wai-

It was level 9 spell.

Nowhere had it been said that my control had been compromised.

Just that the cost was decreased and that a focus wasn't needed.

With a glimmer of hope shining in my chest, I directed the flames to encircle me to from a protective sphere. To my utter joy, I felt the flames move and obey my command as they began to spin and form a sphere around me.

I closed my eyes as I saw the sphere go up and felt the tongue attacks stop. Slowly, I opened the top of the sphere and expanded it until my head was out of the sphere. I tried to look for the frogs but my night vision was ruined from all the light from the fire.

Failing in spotting the frogs, I turned to the skills that would have protected me had I not ignored them; I used **{Sensor}** and immediately felt the disturbances being caused by the movement of the frogs.

Knowing that I could not guide the fire spell any further, lest I break my protective sphere, I used another **{Incendio}**. Hoping, no, not hoping, praying; praying that it would work. To whom I was praying, I did not know.

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 83/18

A ball of fire materialized in front of my head and I directed the flames pouring out of it to where I had felt the disturbance that was most sloppy. A shriek reached my ears, as my flames hit their target, before the frog jumped away.

Following the disturbances that it was creating, I pursued with my flames, and again, I heard a shriek as my flames hit their mark. It flailed but didn't jump back so I pushed my advantage. A screech echoed from behind me as a tongue raced towards me before getting burned from the fire sphere and retreating.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 68/18

' _Wha-! What! Nothing had hit me right now! Nothing! Why had I receive the damage! I could not have received damage from anything, anything at all!'_ I turned to look for anything that could have hit me and my eyes fell on my wings; they were singed. I had received fire damage from my own spell.

' _Fuck! I need to finish this fast!'_

A bunch of screens popped up in front of me and I felt the disturbances from the frog cease. It was dead. I turned to the rest of the frogs that had raced up to me and poured flames after flames in their direction.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 53/18

They jumped away but I felt them falter; my flames had managed to sing them. I whirled around to the one closer to me and pursued it as it continued to jump. I heard a hiss and knew that my flames had hit once again. The other frog tried to distract me, as it tried to hit me with its tongue, but I did not let up and continued to pelt the frog that I had earlier with flames after flames of fire.

It shrieked as the flame hit it properly for the first time and it faltered mid jump, falling in pain. Following my advantage, I trailed him with my flames in tow, and poured more and more flames on the creature. It flailed and it shrieked and it tried to jump away but I did not let go and continued to roast it alive.

The third frog, realizing that there was no way of saving the second, jumped away from me and ran. I did not pursue it as I had another one already dying from my fire.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 38/18

As I continued to barbeque the frog, I felt the disturbances from the frog cease before a bunch of screens popped up.

I ignored the screens and, with my fire trailing behind me, I headed towards the trap. The fourth frog was still in trap, jumping and hissing as it tried to come out of the trap but I had made it deep enough that it couldn't.

Reaching directly above the trap, I turned my flames down and began to burn the fourth frog. An unholy screech echoed from down the hole but I ignored it and continued to pour flames after flames into the trap.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 23/18

Soon I felt the half dead frog –from the poison- stop making disturbances and a bunch of another screens pop up. It, too, was dead.

I ignored the screens again and called out the cancellation spell. _'Nox.'_

Ting.

 **[-10 MP]**

HP/MP: 23/8

The single spell managed to somehow cancel out both my fire spells. How that worked out, I did not know but, at the moment, I couldn't care less.

With all the spells cancelled, I flew out of there as fast as possible.

One of the frogs had escaped and I did not want to wait around to see if it was bringing reinforcements or not. I previously hadn't thought that something like that could be possible but then I, previously, also hadn't thought that frogs could hunt in groups or setup an ambush! It had scared the shit out of me!

Flying as fast I could, I reached my hideout, crawled in, hid the entrance and settled down; shaking. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the realization that I had been almost eaten alive, again, by 4 frogs this time, was settling in. It was an impossible situation that I had made out of alive. Somehow.

I tried a take a deep breath in, but all I could do was shudder, as the aftershocks of what had happened ran through my body. I seized up, unable to move and started hyperventilating as my breath came in short and fast. My heartbeat quickened as my heart began to race.

I tried to control my breathing, I really did, but I just couldn't! No matter how much I tried to calm myself, to stay focused, my mind went back, again and again, to the point when I had been surrounded! I felt contained and bound and unable to move!

My breath hastened further and became incredibly short! My heart raced, trying to break free of my chest! I felt darkness approaching and I tried to fight it but all my efforts fell short! My breaths were incredibly short now! They were so short that I was surprised that I even had air in my lungs!

The darkness approached me faster and faster but I tried to push it away. My heart hammered in my ches-

…

..

.

* * *

Like it?

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Just review and let me know!

Go _Review!_

 **Now.**

* * *

A/N: The MP/HP stats showcased in the chapter are what the MC thinks he has.

* * *

A/N: I have created a **twitter account** for all the things related to my writings. If you guys and gals have any questions related to this story, or for the other one, you can find me at-the-rate **Man_Spectacled** or with the username **Reborn a Bug!** The display picture is of a cat wearing glasses.

* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	11. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 11

**A/N:** This chapter, I feel, is going to be a make or break chapter for some of you. Consider reading it till the end.

* * *

 **A/N:** For those of you that haven't figured it out by now, I update once a week, mostly on Sundays.

* * *

 **Night 23.**

* * *

I woke up feeling more tired and more in pain than I have felt in a long time. And I really, really mean it this time.

My wings burned like they were on fire, my carapace felt broken at places, my head felt like it had been hit with a hammer –repeatedly- and it hurt to move. I was so not in a good shape. _'Just what the hell happened last night?'_

I frowned and, at once, all the memories came rushing back; giving me a blinding headache. _'Uuhhh!'_

I tried to clutch my head but I didn't have the hands to do so; I just had limbs which were completely useless in this condition. I grimaced and turned towards the feint glow that was enlightening the burrow. It was from the notifications from last night.

The first notification that I saw, which consequently must have been the last notification, was about evolving.

 **[You have crossed Level 100. Do you want to evolve now?]**

 **[YES NO]**

' _I am level hundred? How, just how? I was on level 68 the last time I checked. And I remember getting 3 levels from the spiders, making me reach level 71. That –that means that I got 29 levels from the frogs! Holy shit!'_

I took a deep breath in. And slowly, let it out.

' _Okay, that is entirely plausible; the one frog I had killed before had given me 15 lev- Wait. The screen says I have crossed level 100, not reached, like it had said last time.'_ A frown materialized on my face. _'Just what is my level? And how many levels did I gain from the frogs?'_

I checked my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Poisonous Forest Moth]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 104]**

 **[HP: 101/224]** [A/N: Calc.: 23+33+2*9+3*9]

 **[MP: 86/124]** [A/N: Calc.: 8+33+5*9]

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Master of Death}, {Bullheaded}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.8}, {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.1}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.6}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.3}, {Observe Lv.6}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.8}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.3}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

 **[EVOLVE]**

I gaped at what I saw. I was level 104; that meant that the frogs had netted me 33 levels! And just look at that HP and MP stats! How! Just how! And was that a new Title! **[Fire Elemental]**? How in the hell did I gain that!?

' _I can explain the HP being 101! It's just 23 points from last night added with 33 points from the level ups, which was added to my inflated regeneration of 5HP/Hour due to the skill {Masochism} being at Level 3! And the same with my MP! But where did the new Title co-'_

Stop.

Focus.

' _Whatever has caused my stats to inflate, will be in these notifications; I need to read them all.'_ Shaking my head to clear it, I focused on **[NO]**.

Ting.

 **[You can evolve later by selecting the 'Evolve' option from your status window.]**

Dismissing the window, I reached the next one.

 **[Skill {Stubborn Lv.3} has leveled up to {Stubborn Lv.4}. The negative modifier has decreased by one. All distractions will now be felt 7 times as stronger.]**

I frowned. _'Why in hell has_ _ **{Stubborn}**_ _leveled up? I don't think I did anything particularly stupid last night. All I did was whatever it was that was needed for me to survive. Sure I chose to pursue and kill the first frog but it was because I had to make a point and then the second one had just continued to attack me; I didn't have a choice in its case.'_

' _The third one, though, I had killed because it was one I had targeted in the first place. I just couldn't let it go. It would have turned the death of the other two frogs meaningless. Those two frogs had died because I attacked the first one; to just let it live after I had to fight off –and kill- the rest of the frogs would have been a waste of all the things that I had to do last night.'_

' _No I couldn't just let it live. Is this why_ _ **{Stubborn}**_ _has leveled up? Because I hadn't let the last frog live? That was a stupid reason to level up the skill but hey, I am not complaining.'_ Dismissing the screen, I focused on the next one.

 **[Skill {Trap Lv.2} has leveled up to {Trap Lv.3}. Your traps do 1% more damage. Extra damage due to the skill: 3%]**

' _Oh alright. I guess that_ _ **{Trap}**_ _levels up at the number of kills, by the traps, rather than the number of traps that had been setup.'_ I dismissed the screen and was greeted by-

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP and +1 MP granted.]**

I dismissed it then I dismissed the next one and the next one and the next one. ' _Oh come on! Do I really have to dismiss all 33 screens of the level ups!'_

 **[Forced activation of {Element: Fire} has unlocked the skill {Mana Control Lv.1}]**

' _Wha-! What the hell! When was there a forced activation? And when did I gain the fire ele- Wait.'_

Focus.

' _It will all be in the notifications._ ' I took a deep breath and focused on the new Skill, **skill {Mana Control Lv.1}.**

Ting.

 **[Ability to control the outflow of Mana. Decreases Mana cost of Elemental Manipulations. Current Cost decreased by: 0 MP]**

…Eh?

' _What a useless skill! It isn't doing anything! It even says so in the description! And what does even 'Elemental Manipulations' mean?'_ Grumbling, I dismissed the screen.

 **[Skill Gained {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}]**

'… _Okay. So that explains what 'Elemental Manipulations' means.'_ I focused on the skill.

Ting.

 **[Ability to manipulate Fire to your will. Cost: 15MP/Second.]**

I gaped _! '15MP/SECOND! Are you kidding me! How can anybody use this skill?! What an absurd cost! It is absolutely usele-'_

Stop. Just stop.

And t _hink_.

' _Is this why I gained the skill_ _ **{Mana Control Lv.1}**_ _? It definitely makes sense now. And that skill seems much more useful now than before.'_ I sighed and dismissed the screen.

 **[Spell {Incendio} had reached Maximum Level. Grants Title [Fire Elemental].]**

' _Okay. That explains the new Title.'_ I focused on it.

 **[You can convert Mana to Fire efficiently. Grants skill {Fire Manipulation Lv. 1}]**

' _Hmm._ _ **{Incendio}**_ _reaching level Max gave me a new title and a new skill, does that mean that when_ _ **{Agumentai}**_ _will reach Max level, I would get Water related Title and skill? Oh that would be awesome if it did!'_ Grinning, I dismissed the screen and focused on the next one.

 **[Title [Master of Death] activated. Spell {Incendio Lv.9} has leveled up twice, due to the third property of the Title, which grants two levels in spells for each level gained, causing it to reach {Incendio }]**

' _Oh. So_ _ **{Incendio}**_ _had leveled up from Level 9 to Level 10 and then the title_ _ **[Master of Death]**_ _kicked in, causing it to reach the maximum level. Hmm. Will_ _ **[Master of Death]**_ _work for_ _ **{Fire Manipulation}**_ _too? But then, that one is listed as a skill. So maybe, no? Hmm. I would have to wait and see, I guess.'_

Dismissing the screen, I was met with the last one; though I already knew which one it would be.

 **[Spell {Incendio Lv.9} has leveled up.]**

I dismissed the screen, and with this one, all the screens were dealt with.

A slow smile formed on my face. I was going to Evolve! Evolve! And what made the whole situation even better was the fact that it was happening much earlier than I had anticipated!

Opening my status window, I focused on the **[EVOLVE]** option.

Ting.

 **[Do you want to evolve now?]**

 **[YES NO]**

Grinning, I focused on **[YES]**.

Ting.

 **[Chose your form.]**

 **[Fairy: Your species related evolution path.]**

 **[Pixie: Your species related alternate evolution path.]**

 **[Doxy: Variant. Granted due to your anarchic methods.]**

I frowned; all the creatures, while magical, where nothing more than pests. I don't want to be a pest. But then, I don't want to be an insect altogether. I had hoped to get better choices now that I had my magic back.

With a resigned sigh, I focused on my choi-

Hold it.

Am I even sure these were the same creatures that I thought they were? What if they were something totally different but I was just assuming they were the same because they had names that I recognized. _'Oh fuck you Blue Screen. I don't trust your crusty lying ass!'_

Scowling, I focused on the word Fairy in the first option.

Ting.

 **[You have chosen Fairy as you evolution. Are you sure?]**

 **[YES NO]**

' _Wha-! No! I don't want to be a stupid narcissist which was too enchanted with its self to even function properly!'_ Without a second thought I focused on **[NO].**

I scowled; focusing on the species didn't have the effect that I was aiming for. Maybe I could use **{Observe}** on them to know more about species?

Staring at the option 'Fairy', I thought, _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Fairies are tiny humanoid creatures with wings. Their main attribute is their vanity which attracts them to anything shiny. They form the base of the food chain.]**

' _I was so, so, not choosing Fairy as my evolution; I had no wish to remain on the bottom of the food chain any more time than I absolutely had to.'_ Dismissing the window, I turned to stare at the option 'Pixie'. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Pixies are tiny and blue humanoid creatures without wings, though they are capable of flight. Their main attribute is their strength and tendency to cause mischief. Their penchant to create trouble causes them to be at the base of the food chain.]**

' _Hmm. Pixie seems like it is a much better choice than Fairy, yet it remains at the bottom of the food chain; not something very positive about it.'_ Wanting to cover all my options, I turned to the last option, Doxy. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Doxies are tiny humanoid creatures with wings. Their main attribute is their rather potent Venom and their perchance for malicious tricks which often results in their target getting hurt or worse. Due to their venom and their tricks, they are usually left alone by most creatures.]**

' _Now, this sounds promising. Doxy wasn't on the bottom of the pyramid so it has much less predators than the other two options; which is always a good point. And even though the 'malicious tricks' part was worrying, I'll still be me. It isn't like I am going to change just because I evolved into something that has specific traits.'_

My decision made, I focused on Doxy but before the window could pop up, I stopped. A doxy was much bigger in size than a moth and even though my hideout was large for a moth, it won't be comfortable for a doxy. With a grimace, I began to work; I had a burrow to expand.

A few hours of hard work later, I returned to my status window and focused on **[EVOLVE].**

Ting.

 **[Do you want to evolve now?]**

 **[YES NO]**

Grinning, I focused on **[YES]**.

Ting.

 **[Chose your form.]**

 **[Fairy: Your species related evolution path.]**

 **[Pixie: Your species related alternate evolution path.]**

 **[Doxy: Variant. Granted due to your anarchic methods.]**

Without any hesitation, I focused on Doxy.

Ting.

 **[You have chosen Doxy as you evolution. Are you sure?]**

 **[YES NO]**

I focused on **[YES]**.

Ting.

 **[Evolution will begin now.]**

Before I could even dismiss the screen, an overbearing urge to spit around me hit me. Again. I straightened up and stood up on my hind leg-thingies as my mouth came down and spat something; something that began solidifying as soon as it left my mouth.

I watched in fascination as my I began to spin a cocoon around me, transforming me into a pupa. Though, it made no sense; why pupa? I was no longer a caterpillar that would evolve into a moth or a butterfly. I was a moth that was evolving into a Doxy and as Doxies are born from eggs, shouldn't this covering be an egg or somethi-

* * *

 **DAY** **24**

* * *

I woke up feeling confined and bound. I frowned and tried to jog my memory, attempting to remember the last thing from the previous night. _'Evolution. Right.'_

Knowing that I was trapped in the cocoon that I had –somehow- created for evolution, I began wiggling and squirming to free myself. I heard a crack as my body continued to squirm causing the shell to break. I smiled and reinforced my struggles.

Soon enough, cracks after cracks followed and I was free from the cocoon binding me.

Stepping out of the broken cocoon, I stretched and grinned _. 'Ah, it feels so good to have hands and legs again! Finally I am free from all the crawling and sliding! I can finally walk! I can hold things! I can use my fingers!'_

I laughed. And I continued to laugh unti-

Ting.

 **[Evolution completed. You have evolved into a Doxy.]**

Ting.

 **[Evolution bonus of 30 points has been added to your total Health Points and Mana Points. You have been completely healed.]**

Ting.

 **[Your base MP and HP regenerations have doubled to become +4HP/Hour and +10MP/Hour.]**

Ting.

 **[Level Up Bonus has increased from 1 point per level, to 2 points per level, for both MP and HP. Both the bars have been adjusted for the change.]**

I grinned at the notifications. _'What a bonus! 30 Points extra for both HP and MP and the increase in regenerations; something I have been begging for a very long time now! I couldn't be happier!'_

Ting.

 **[Final evolution of evolution tree {Race: Insect} reached. You cannot evolve any more.]**

…Come again.

' _This is a joke right. It has to be a joke. After all, how can I not evolve?'_

' _If evolution had to stop, it would have stopped after I evolved into a moth, right? Right?! If evolution had to stop, why would it let me evolve into a Doxy!? Right!? There was no relation between a doxy and a moth! I shouldn't have evolved into a doxy at all! Doxies are born from eggs! They do not evolve from anything! If evolution had to stop, it should have stopped at Moth!'_

This is a mistake! It had to be! How could it not be?!

'I can evolve! I had to! It cannot be that I can no longer evolve! It just can't be! I cannot live the rest of my life as a Doxy! No! I refuse! I will not be con-

Ting.

 **[Species Title, {Trickster} gained.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Intermediate Venom: Doxy: Resistance Lv. Max} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Sub-Skill for poison creation {Available: Intermediate Venom: Doxy} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Poison Resistance Lv.8} has leveled up to {Poison Resistance Lv.9}. You can gain up to 9 sub-resistance skills.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Doxy Shield Lv.1} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Drone Eggs Lv.1} acquired.]**

Ting.

 **[Doxies are creature that prefer cold environment. Skill {Ice resistance Lv.1} acquired.]**

I panted!

My breath coming short and heavy!

I was panicking!

I should not be panicking!

I hadn't even panicked this much when I had realized that I had been reincarnated as a caterpillar! Yet, here I was, panicking at the news that I could not evolve anymore! What was wrong with ME!

I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath in, to calm myself!

I FAILED!

I tried AGAIN!

And again!

And again!

And again!

And again.

And succeeded.

Slowly, I let a breath out and took another deep breath in before letting it out.

Breath in, breath out.

Breath in, breath out.

Breath in, breath out.

Breath in, breath out.

Breath in, breath out.

I calmed down.

With somewhat clear mind, I tried to find the reason for the panic attack. I tried searching within myself, for the reason had to be there. Why had I reacted so badly to the news? Why had I panicked?

I had not reacted this strongly even when I had broken out of my egg. I hadn't reacted this strongly when I had noticed that I was a caterpillar. Why was that? Why had I reacted this strongly this time?

Why hadn't I made a ruckus then? Was it because dying had made me give up on life? Or was it because I had been just so happy to be alive that I hadn't minded that I was a caterpillar? Was it because of both these reasons? Or was it because of none of them?

I did not know the answer of any of those questions clearly. What I did know was that the reason lied somewhere in between both those points.

But if that was true, then why had I reacted so strongly this time? Were my reasons not the same anymore? Had my reasons changed? How could that be? How could my reasons change when I did not even know what my reasons were?

Questions after questions hit me and none of them gave me any answer.

What was the reason for my freak out? Why had I reacted this strongly? Was it because the whole concept of evolution had given me hope? Because it had made me believe that I could be something more than what I had been born as? That I could, one day, reach my former self. Or even surpass it.

Were those my reasons? Was it because my hope had been crushed that I freaked out? Was it because the dream that I had been unknowingly dreaming was pounded to death with that single statement? Was it because, with that one statement, my unknown visions had turned into delusions? Was that the reason I had freaked out?

' _Yes.'_

I felt those reasons shake me to the core. I felt them shuddering in my soul. Yes. Yes, was the answer. These were my reason; the reason why I had freaked out. I had freaked out because all my unknown hopes, dreams and visions had been crushed by a single statement. ' _I couldn't evolve no more. I can't survive no more.'_

I took a deep shuddering breath and opened my eyes.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Meditate Lv.6} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.7}. While meditating, MP regeneration will be increased by 7 MP/Hour.]**

I dismissed the notification. I know I had realized something important about me; there was no need to remind me about it by popping that notification.

I let the breath, which I had been holding, out.

I had a problem to deal with. There was no way I was going to be stuck as a doxy; it was just unacceptable. I was not going to quash my dreams after I had realized that I had them. I was not going to give up on myself.

What did that mean? This just meant that I would have to find another way to evolve and nothing else.

I set the thought aside but did not dismiss it -I _could_ _not_ dismiss that thought- and focused on the task at hand; the notifications. The last notification was about a skill, the **{Ice resistance}.** I focused on it.

Ting.

 **[You resist cold and ice damage to a certain extent. Resistance increases with level. Current Resistance level: 10%]**

Pretty standard; I dismissed it and moved onto the next one; it was about **{Drone Eggs}.**

Ting.

 **[You can lay eggs which hatch to birth Drone Doxies. Current egg limit per use: 1. Current time required to hatch the eggs: 12 days.]**

What did the skill mean? How could I produce eggs? I was male. Nothing else but male! And so was this body!

…Or at least I think so. About this body! Not about me! I had never noticed it, either as a caterpillar or as a moth because neither of them had reproductive part that I was familiar with. I had just assumed that it was male. Was it not the case?

I looked down and groaned; this doxy body also didn't have any part discerning me as male or female. There was no part for urination. Which was I? I hoped to dear god I was ma-

Wait.

The skill consumed MP, more precisely 100 MP per use. That meant that skill was more magical in nature than physical. Still, trying to be sure, I used the skill.

Ting.

 **[-100 MP.]**

I felt my stomach turn as an ache began to spread in my belly. _'Oh shit! It is physical after all!'_

I felt myself gag and bile rise in my throat. _'Is it going to come out of my mouth?!'_

' _Oh dear lord, it is; it is going to come out of my mouth_.' I gagged. Then I gagged some more. There was something trying to force its way out of my throat. I felt it try to force itself, trying to expand my throat beyond its limit.

Pain. Pain was all I felt and fell to floor; unable to stand. As the pain continued to wreck me, I gagged. I gagged and the flow of air cut off. I felt something hit my tongue and slip over it as it peeked out of my mouth. And then, in one long hurl, a long cylindrical thing fell out of my mouth and hit the floor.

' _Oh dear lord, that was horrible! Just horrible! Never doing that again. Never!'_

I panted and gasped and breathed as I tried to control my breath but to no avail. Still gasping, I turned to the thing that I had vomited. It was long, almost as long as my arm and just as thick. _'I don't know how that thing passed through my throat and I would never know because I am not doing this again.'_ Still. _'Obverve.'_

Ting.

 **[Doxy Drone Egg. Days to hatch: 12]**

Squinting at the description, I decided to try something and focused on the words 'Doxy Drone' before using **{Observe}** on it.

Ting.

 **[Doxies are hive creatures with one Queen Doxy and the other Soldier Doxies and Drone doxies that protect and work for the colony respectively.]**

Well, huh, that didn't answer the question about my gender at all. Was this body male or female? If this body was female, then why did I vomit the egg out of me; shouldn't I have, I don't know, pushed it out through another more natural way? Or was this body male because of the way egg came out of me? Uhh!

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. It did not matter, what this body's gender was; after all, this was justr a bodice and nothing more. It was something that I canged with each evolution. And I _will_ evolve.

Besides, I saw myself as male and some pesky bodice, which kept on changing, was not going to tell me otherwise.

Dismissing the thought –it took more effort than it should have needed- and the screen, I focused on the next one, the **{Doxy Shield}**.

Ting.

 **[A shield in the shape of Doxy's (or Beetle's) wings forms in front of you. Current Hit Points: 10]**

Well that was convenient. A magic shield that blocked physical attacks; finally something good! Smiling, I dismissed the screens and the one after that and the one after that; those two were just talking about Doxy Venom that I could now create.

I focused on the last screen; it mentioned my new title, **{Trickster}.**

Ting.

 **[You enjoy malicious tricks and trick everybody for the sake of your enjoyment. Effects bearer's mind.]**

' _What- what the hell!? Effects bearer's mind!? I did not know that such a thing was even possible!_ ' I sighed. ' _I guess I would have to start leveling up_ _ **{Occlumency}**_ _now, won't I?'_

I grimaced. With that 'final evolution' thing, then the 'gender' thing and now with this 'mind altering' thing, I am seriously beginning to regret my decision to evolve into a Dox-

Wait.

Just wait a minute.

' _Why am I not panicking anymore? I have just come to know that my gender has been changed and that my mind is being tempered with. Why am I not reacting to it?'_

I frowned before another sigh escaped me. ' _I guess I am just too emotionally exhausted from my earlier panic attack to react to anything anymore.'_ I felt like I could just roll over and die and yet, I could not react with more than careless 'huh'. I was just that emotionally exhausted.

Not wanting to deal with anything else anymore, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

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A/N: I have a **Twitter account** where I post about chapter status, my favorite reviews and also answers for various questions asked in reviews. Consider following me there if you love the story. I can be found on Twitter at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**

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P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	12. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 12

**A/N:** To assuage a few people, no, this story will not be Mpreg. For more detailed reply to this topic, check out my Twitter account where I have posted the comment that talks about it and my reply to it.

* * *

 **Night 24**

* * *

Waking up, feeling completely relaxed and lightheaded, felt weird for some reason. It was, as if, I have had a headache, for the longest time, which had all of a sudden, vanished.

I shook my head and smiled in relief, which soured quickly as the events of the morning came rushing back.

' _Yeah…no.'_ I scowled. ' _That is so not going to work. I will evolve. There is no doubt about it. And I will not let some silly little Title change me. Nor will I let some stupid bodice tell me who or what I am. Nothing that makes me, me, is up for discussion. I am who I am and it is going to remain that way. No matter the cost.'_

I cracked my neck and saw the shell left behind after my evolution. I frowned. _'Didn't I gain a level after eating it last time?'_

' _I did, didn't I? Will I gain another one if I consume it now?'_ I didn't know the answer to that. _'But let's find out.'_

With that, I began devouring the cocoon that had guarded me while I had been evolving.

Ting.

 **[You have consumed The Gift.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

I grinned and stretched my newfound body; causing my eyes to fall on the egg that I had vomited. _'Eh? Just what will come out of that thing? I hope whatever comes out, doesn't consider me its parent; that would so not be a fun thing.'_

Shaking my head to clear it of that absurd thought, I sighed. I had two things to do; both of which were of extreme importance. The first thing being finding a way to evolve, while the second thing being leveling up my **{Occlumency}** to stop the Title **{Trickster}** from fucking with my head.

I don't know how the Title would fuck me up, but its description said that it effects the mind of the bearer. And that was enough for me to consider it a priority.

I also had to find a way to be sure of my gender, but it wasn't that important, because it didn't matter which body I currently occupied, I was a man and I knew that; nothing was going to change that fact. Nothing.

But that brought me back to my current problem; which one of two problems should I focus on, at the moment? Problem of how to evolve or the problem of how to level up Occlumency; which one should I focus on first? Then there was also the point that it wasn't as if I would be able to start working on either of them, the moment I made my choice; I had no idea how to solve either of them.

I grimaced. _'Not knowing is so not fun.'_

Anyway, if I were to make a logical decision, then finding a way to level up **{Occlumency}** would take priority, after all, **{Trickster}** was something that was altering my mind. But not being able to evolve was something that was bugging me something major; also, I hadn't forgotten the little fact that it was something that had almost caused me a panic attack.

With a sigh I decided to find a way to continue evolving. _'But how will I do that? How will I find a way to evolve!? I have no idea what evolution is, let alone how the damn thing even worked!'_

I took a deep breath in, as I closed my eyes. Losing my mind over it would do me no good; I needed to think this problem through with a calm mind. _'So how will I go about solving it, when I have no knowledge about it?'_

Well, obviously, the first thing that I needed to do was gain more knowledge about it. But how would I do that? It wasn't like I had someone that explained each and everythi-

Oh.

But I did.

Sure I didn't have someone that explained everything to me, but I did have some _thing_. I opened my eyes and smiled.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Meditate Lv.7} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.8}. While meditating, MP regeneration will be increased by 8 MP/Hour.]**

' _Yes, yes. I made a breakthrough using meditation; I connected more with myself and came closer to being and acknowledging who I am. Can we move on now?'_ I almost sighed in exasperation before calling up my status; 'almost' because I was in too good a mood to actually sigh.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 5]**

 **[HP: 260/260]**

 **[MP: 160/160]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Bullheaded}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}, {Trickster}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.8}, {Doxy Shield Lv.1}, {Drone Eggs Lv.1},** **{Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Ice resistance Lv.1}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.1}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.8}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.3}, {Observe Lv.6}, {Occlumens Lv.7}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.9}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.3}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio }, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

I read my status, carefully this time; paying great attention to each and every word. I frowned when I noticed the extra ' **(s)'** besides Race. _'Why would there be an option for multiple in races?'_

Ting.

 **[Race(s) allows for different evolution pathways to manifest. Current evolution path completed: Insect.]**

I frowned again, in thought, this seemed promising. ' _If I understand this correctly, then multiple races are possible. And with new race, new evolution pathways will materialize.'_

I smiled _. 'Alright!'_

So I could evolve again by acquiring a new Race. But how would I do that? Maybe if I focus on it again, something will pop up.

Nope. Nothing popped up. Maybe if I used **{Observe}** on it instead? Dismissing the current screen, I returned to the status screen. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Race(s) allows for different evolution pathways to manifest. Current evolution path completed: Insect.]**

 **[Races are either granted by Titles or by Skills and turn you** _ **Completely**_ **into another being.]**

' _Well, it worked. Though, I had expected more information.'_ Still, it was better than nothing. _'Hmm. As far as I know, Titles are generated by the Will of the World, or something, which controls the blue screen, and I can't effect their creation as I wouldn't know what will trigger it.'_

Still, I should probably confirm it. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Title is a label awarded by the Will of the World, to the living beings, for performing specific tasks or for meeting certain specifications.]**

 **[Titles either grant a skill or affect the behavior of the bearer. Titles need not always have a positive effect.]**

I scowled; though there was extra information available now, it was nothing that I didn't know.

This left me with just the second option, skills. _'Though, when it was talking about Race, what did it mean by, 'turn you Completely into another being'? And why was there such an emphasis on the world 'complete'? What was the meaning of that?'_

I frowned and turned to the list of my skills. Did I have any skill that that could turn me completely into another being?

Well, obviously, yes.

I had the skill **{Animagus}** which would allow me turn into another being. But, the thing was that it would turn me into _another_ creature and I don't know whether it would qualify for the _complete_ transformation or not.

Still, it was better than nothing.

So I somewhat sighed in relief; finally I had an idea about how to achieve what I was looking for. I finally had found something that might lead me back to the evolution road. This was good; this was very good.

With a small smile, I closed my eyes and began to meditate.

Now, it wasn't as if I didn't have any idea about being an animagus or how to turn into one; I did. When I had found out about my Dad being a stag animagus and his reasons behind learning the skill, I had found curiosity bubbling in me about the skill; something which had resulted into me researching about the animagi and the animagus process.

Though nothing ever came out of it, as the next year, the debacle of the Tri-Wizard tournament had happened, which had let to the resurrection of Voldemort and, suffice to say, after that, everything had just turned into one big cluster fuck.

Please don't excuse the language; it's well suited here.

So here I was, using the nostalgic association with the skill, in a situation that I had never thought I'd be. Hell, I hadn't even known that situation like these actually come to be. I shook my head to clear it of the random thoughts.

But it had little effect.

So I decided to Ignore the thoughts and with a deep breath, I tried to remember what I knew about the whole process.

Small bits and pieces of recollections came floating back to me, as I dug deeper and deeper into my memories, before they reconciled to form a somewhat complete picture. I smiled.

From what I remembered about the process, the method required me to immerse in myself and be in touch with my magic as it removed any outward binding, any worldly attachments and allowed me to view myself in my most primal forms; instincts, magic and memories. After all, these were what constituted a soul.

 _Soul._

 _What an interesting thing, with even more interesting components._

 _Its first component ware Instincts. Instincts were something that every being reacted on the basis of. It was because of these instincts that different people reacted differently; that was why no two people were the same. It was because no two set of instincts were the same._

 _Memories, on the other hand, were at work when people made decisions, as decisions are based on experiences which are retained in memories; thus souls. A soul with no experience was a soul with no memories._

 _And the last piece of the puzzle was magic; which, actually, didn't need any explanations._

 _These three were what constituted a soul; instincts, memories and magic._

 _Now, these three parts were represented in a soul –or better to say in a mindscape- though different means; magic formed an entire realm to soothe the memories and the instincts, to soothe the individual as a whole._

 _In that serene realm, memories formed a semi-corporeal shape of the soul bearer's body, to represent the bearer and its desires. While instincts, on the other hand, condensed to manifest as the primal animal that was a representation of the mind of the soul bearer._

 _It was due to this fact that only magical being could create a mindscape. Muggles just didn't have the magic to create one._

 _Now, though the beast was the representation of the soul's instincts, it also contained within itself the aspects of soul's memories, soul's magic and everything else that was the soul bearer._

 _This beast was the animagus form. It was the magical being's soul laid bare._

As the memories continued to come, I frowned at the next bit.

 _For a beast to represent a soul, and its bearer, it would have to have its own magic. It had to be so because the magical being that it represented had magic. And also because the beast formed in the mindscape, contained within it, the magic of the magical being's soul._

 _It could not, not, be magical in nature._

 _This, in general, caused a problem. The problem being that the beast's magic needed to be merged with the soul's inherent magic. The beast magic will have to be merged with my magic; which was a risk as it may lead to the beast's primal magic overwhelming my magic, causing me to be lost in my own mind, leaving me comatose._

 _It was this risk that caused most people to forgo allowing their magic to be represented in the manifestation of the beast, which they achieved by taking the animagus potion that forced the magic to support only the realm and stopped its interaction with the manifestation of the beast. This hindrance, though, resulted in manifesting of only non-magical animals._

' _But I didn't have the luxury of animagus potion.'_ Despite that last thought, I opened my eyes with a smile plastered on my face. Now I had a working plan of what I had to do.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Meditate Lv.8} has leveled up to {Meditate Lv.9}. While meditating, MP regeneration will be increased by 9 MP/Hour.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Occlumens Lv.7} has leveled up to {Occlumens Lv.8}.** **Your Mental Fortitude has increased.** **]**

I raised an eyebrow in question. _'_ _ **{Meditate}**_ _leveling up, I can understand but why in the world did_ _ **{Occlumens}**_ _level up? I hadn't been using occlumency, or at least I don't think I had been. Did it level up because I was using it to try and jog up my memory? But that is not what Occlumency is, now is it?'_

As far as I knew, Occlumency meant shielding one's mind from foreign presence or foreign attacks. There hadn't been any attacks while I had been meditating; I was sure of that. I would have felt them if there had been, after all, blocking intrusions from the mind of a psychopathic murderer was good for something.

Shaking my head at the insane direction my mind had taken, I frowned. My joints felt stiff and muscles felt cramped. Just how much time had passed?

I tried to stand up-

Thud.

' _Ouch!'_

-but my head hid the roof of the hideout. It seemed that while I had taken my size into consideration, while expanding the hideout just before evolution- I hadn't considered my newfound height.

Groaning, I began to dig my way out of the burrow. As I dug and made my way out of the hideout, I felt the earth began to loosen up more and more. I hoped that it wasn't what I was thinking it was because I did not want to lose the place that had catered to me ever since I had been born in this world. It was my home.

But as I began to surface, I knew my wish was a vain one. The earth around the entrance had loosened up a lot and the expansion that I had done some time ago, the one that had weakened the foundation, was finally coming to bite me.

My home was going to collapse.

And just as I finally dug my way out and resurfaced, the entrance collapsed.

…

..

I stared.

I stared at the depression where my home used to be and I did nothing else but stare. It was an empty feeling; the feeling of losing one's home. It made me feel hollow and lost; so very lost. Where would I return to now? Where would I burrow to heal?

I didn't cry. I didn't feel sad. I just felt hollow. I just felt empty inside.

' _I guess this is really it, huh._ ' I turned around and began to walk. It wasn't as if it mattered anymore; after all, I didn't have any possessions that I would have los-

The Egg!

Oh My Fucking God! That stupid egg was buried underneath it all!

FUCK!

' _Why can't I have just walked away? Why do I have to desecrate the remains of my home?'_ I panted.

I debated leaving the egg buried; it was not as if I cared about the creature that would come out of it. It would be just some stupid doxy that wouldn't even have a proper brain if what I had read, had meant, what I thought I meant. Bu-

I shrieked in rage.

It sounded like screech, even to my ears. The hollowness was suddenly filled with rage; red _hot_ rage! _'I do not want to do this! I so did not! But I can't let something be born underneath all that mud just to die afterwards! Uhhh! Fuck you world! Fuck you!'_

I took a deep breath in and slowly, ever so slowly, let it out.

It did not help.

I repeated the process again. And again and again until it helped.

' _It was just a hole; just a hole in the ground and nothing else. That egg was something that had a living being inside it. I shouldn't leave it alone; not when its claim to life was me.'_

I took another breath in and began to dig. I dug and I dug and I dug as I desecrated the memory of my lost home.

I panted and gasped and yet I dug.

I used the rage that filled the hollowness, to fuel me and my digging.

By the time I had reached the egg, I was exhausted; both physically and mentally. I could no longer deal with these emotions that had been hitting me for the past few days. I was tired. So very _tired_. Of my emotions. Of myself. Of this word.

I was just _so very tired_.

But I couldn't give up. I had to survive.

I _will_ survive.

But I didn't want to.

With each passing day, I didn't want to survive a little bit more. Something within me died a little bit more.

What did I have to survive for? What did I have to look forward to?

An empty hole in the ground? And I didn't even have that with me anymore. Even that was taken from me.

I laughed.

A hollow, bitter and cruel laugh.

A laugh that should have been a cry.

Or maybe I was crying.

I didn't know.

And I didn't care enough to know.

All I knew was that I had to dig.

So I dug.

Soon enough, even that was over and I was left with an egg infront of me as I laughed, or maybe as I cried.

I couldn't care less.

Clutching the egg in between my hands, I opened my beetle like wings, and flapped them to take to the air. It was harder than I had thought it would be. The cylindrical egg was heavier than I had assumed it to be and strength was so not the best attribute of a doxy.

As I tried to fly, and failed, and tried again, only to fail again, I calmed down. My hollowness subsided but wasn't forgotten. It was like a dull ache that wouldn't let itself be forgotten.

With a shaky breathe in, I used the skill **{Ant's Will}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

The effect was immediate as I felt energy rush into my veins and the flight become easier. Flying out of the now massive hole, I soared towards the nearest shelter, which just happened to be a bush of some sort. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Poison Bist. It is a plant with mild poison that causes rashes and pain; can kill small creatures.]**

 **[You are immune.]**

' _Well, good to know about the immunity part; I guess, leveling up the skill did some good after all.'_ Dismissing the thought, I began digging underneath the bush with my tiny hands. I grimaced. _'This is going to take a lot of time.'_

As I continued to dig, my thoughts ran back to my old home and how I had to constantly expand it. _'Do I want that? Do I want to dig again and again, each time I needed more space?'_

Ting.

 **[Skill {Dig Lv.8} has leveled up to {Dig Lv.9}. Digging speed has increased.]**

No. I didn't. Dismissing the screen, I stopped digging. I needed to find another and hopefully better place to live. I frowned; now that I had hands and opposable thumbs, I could make a home for myself. Sure it would be out of mud or wood but it still would be something that would resemble a house.

As I pondered more and more on the idea, I liked it even more; that is, until a thought crossed my mind, causing me to grimace. I did not know what the next evolution would be as I didn't even know what Race I would acquire from my animagus form; or if I even would.

But that wasn't the point; the point was that once I evolved, my size could wary from anything to my current size to double or triple my size. This would mean that I would have to take some unknown size into consideration when I made my house if I wanted to live there for a long period of time.

I grimaced, again. How would I even begin to do that? And even if I decide to ignore the possible change in size, I would have to put a lot of work to make something that I would have to leave behind sooner or later.

I scowled; I did not want to do that either. Leaving behind something that I had made –least of all my home that I had made with own hands- was not something I could do, not in my current fragile state. I could not emotionally invest in anything at the moment.

That left me with only one option; finding natural burrows or cavities in trees to live. With my decision made, I left the bush and took to air, only to notice that the moon had already crossed the sky and was about to set.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Night Vision Lv.3} has leveled up to {Night Vision Lv.4}. Your ability to see in night has increased.]**

Dismissing the screen, I sighed. _'I guess I would have to search my home tomorrow then.'_

Starting to dig again, I dug a shallow temporary shelter and rolled the egg in before settling down. Lazily, I called up my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 5]**

 **[HP: 260/260]**

 **[MP: 160/160]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}, {Trickster}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.9}, {Doxy Shield Lv.1}, {Drone Eggs Lv.1}, {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.6} ,{Ice resistance Lv.1}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.1}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.9}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.4}, {Observe Lv.6}, {Occlumens Lv.8}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.9}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.3}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio }, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

Nodding at what I saw, I used **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[- 140 HP]**

As the sluggishness rushed in me, I scowled and dismissed the screen. This skill was still consuming more than half my HP. I really wished the cost would decrease; instead, it seemed to increase every time I used the skill.

I sighed and closed my eyes. _'It is not as if there is anything that I could do about it anyway.'_

With that irritated thought, I fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: What an emotionally draining chapter! It left me emotionally fragile for a few moments. I just hope I was able to convey the MC's feelings. Do tell me if I managed to invoke something in you or not!

* * *

Like it?

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Just review and let me know!

Go _Review!_

 **Now.**

* * *

A/N: I post my favorite reviews, answers to reviews and my when I will update on my Twitter account. Check it out. I can be found on **Twitter** at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**.

* * *

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.


	13. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 13

A/N: Let me reiterate, this is not Mpreg. For more details check my twitter account; details of which are mentioned at the end of the chapter.

* * *

 **Night 25**

* * *

Waking up, feeling empty, itchy and tired was not a good way to wake up, ever. So, _obviously_ , I woke up just like that.

I opened my eyes before frowning. The scenery, which greeted me, was different from what I was used to; the darkness of the burrow was still there but the walls were much closer than they should be and same was the case for the roof. In fact, the burrow was a lot smaller than it should be. _'What-what is going on?'_

And then it all came back to me.

The evolution.

The lost hope.

The shattered dreams.

The crawling out.

The subsequent collapse of my home.

The desecration of the memory of my home to get the stupid egg out.

The gender upheaval.

The decision to find a new home only to notice it was already too late.

I grimaced at the memory before groaning and began making my way out of exuviate. _'Uhh...last night had been eventful.'_ Shaking my head to wake up completely, I began crawling out of the temporary shelter. As I reached the surface, I felt the mud slip beneath my feet. I groaned. _'Uhh..not again!'_

With a sigh I turned around and clutched the egg between my hands before starting to drag it out of the hole. _'If this shit is going to collapse on me, then I do not want to dig through all the mud again just to get the stupid egg out.'_

Once out of the hole, I stomped my feet with as much power as I could muster near the entrance and immediately felt the entrance collapse. I rolled my eyes, wondering just how this fragile structure had held up all night and not collapsed on my sleeping form.

I stomped my legs again a few times, to entirely collapse the shelter, for no good reason other than spite and pettiness.

Yeah, I did not take kindly to the threat that this shelter might have collapsed on me. So I decided to stomp it to the ground as punishment.

Petty and irrational and incredibly childish, I know.

But it felt _so very_ _satisfying._

After having the dose of pettiness for the day, I made my way out of the shallow hole in the soft mud.

Clutching the eggs again, I dragged it to the newly made hole before covering it up with a thin layer of mud. After all, it was not as if I could leave my egg just lying around in the open, while I searched for a more permanent shelter than the one that I was currently occupying.

With the egg safe, I flapped my wings and took to air; I had a new home to find. But before that, just how much HP did I have? I checked my status, my HP read, **[HP: 168/260]** while my MP read, **[MP: 160/160].** I sighed and used **{Episkey},** twice **.**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Which left me with, **[HP: 258/260]** and **[MP: 120/160].**

' _Good enough for the moment.'_

With that taken care of, I began my search for a new home. I started looking around, searching for crevices and creaks in the trees, plants and boulders but there weren't that many of them around. The few that I did find were already occupied and I dared not go near them as both, **{Scent}** and **{Sensor},** warned of other predators living in them.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Sensor Lv.6} has leveled up to {Sensor Lv.7}. Depth and Limit of sensing increased.]**

Dismissing the window, I flew around for almost all night before finding a crevice in a cliff of some sort, south of where my hideout had been.

I grimaced.

Bringing the egg here would be such a tiresome job. 'I would have to constantly use **{Ant's Will}** to be able to fly with it up here, which would mean losing a ton of HP that I would have to restore using **{Episkey},** if I wanted to continue trying to level up **{Molting}** and **{Survive}.** That meant that I would lose MP that I'd rather use either on the **{Animagus}** skill or on **{Observe}.** '

My grimace intensified.

Not happy with the turn of events, I turned back and flew to where I had left the egg. _'I swear this egg is more trouble than it is worth.'_

By the time I returned to my destination, 4 hours had passed and my MP was back to normal. Though that was not important, what was important was that I was feeling some disturbance coming from the direction I had left the egg in; **{Scent}** also warned me of a smell that I would have usually associated with sewage and open drains.

I scowled. _'That stupid egg better be safe from whatever it is that is trailing this area or someone is going to be very, very sorry. I promise.'_

Using **{Stealth}** , I crept behind the bushes and carefully slid in; trying to keep my presence hidden. My eyes searched for the egg but found the intruder instead.

The creature had brown, shiny and beetle like shell that hid wings beneath it. But it was not a beetle; it was too oddly shaped for that. And from where it was leaning on something, making slurping noise, I could see two antennas twirling and twitching.

Beetles didn't have antennas.

The creature turned all of a sudden, most likely because its antennas had picked up my scent.

…And I flinched.

The creature was the thing of nightmares. From a careless glance it seemed like a cockroach but when analyzed with more careful eye, its horrifying pincer like mouth was easily noticeable and so were its scythe like front legs.

But that was not what caused me to flinch, no; instead, it was the goo dripping down the creature's pincers. I knew what that goo was; I just knew it. What else could it be? It could be nothing but _my egg_. My _stupid_ little egg that had had caused me to desecrate the memory of my very first home. It could be nothing else.

Not when I couldn't find the egg anywhere.

That goo was the egg.

This creature had just eaten my egg.

" _HHHHHIIIIIISSSS!"_ The creature threatened, trying to make me back off of its food.

But that mattered not at all. All I saw was my egg being eaten by this-this _thing._ Rage dawned on me.

" **SSSCCCREEECCCCHHH"** I shrieked. Promising vengeance. Oh unholy and dark vengeance.

How dare this creature destroy something that was mine!? How! Had I not lost everything already?! Had I not lost enough that it had to come and destroy the only thing that I possessed besides this PATHETIC BODY!? Had I NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH?! WHAT MORE DID IT **WANT FROM ME**?! **DID IT WANT ME TO LOSE MY LAST SHRED OF SANITY?!**

I laughed. **Maybe, maybe I will.**

I was already seeing red. I had seen my egg broken and wrecked and I had already lost my shit.

Ting.

 **[Title, {Trickster}, activated. You seek to trick and harm others.]**

' _Incendio!'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 268/130

A ball of fire formed right above my hand, blinding me as it ruined my night vision. Ignoring the obvious mistake, I sensed the creature and directed the resulting flame towards it.

I felt the creature dodge the incoming fire.

Fast, it was fast, way faster than anything I had ever dealt with. Finishing its move, the creature opened its shell and from it emerged a pair of translucent but powerful wings. Flapping the wings, creature took to air before spitting something at me.

I dodged and again guided the roaring fire towards where I could feel it making the air shift. The creature dodged but my fire hit a few of leaves before I could redirect it, setting them on fire. I ignored the fire; I couldn't care less at the moment.

I felt the creature rush towards me with its scythe like legs raised, ready to slash. I tried redirecting my fire but I was too slow and the creature's slash grazed me as I tried to dodge at the last moment.

Ting.

 **[-30 HP]**

HP/MP: 238/130

I growled. 30 HP lost just from a graze? Just what was this creature! Whatever it was, it didn't matter; it was going to die. It was going to die a very painful death!

Missing its attack, the creature turned mid-rush and spat again. Still unable to see, I felt the spitting attack a moment too late.

Ting.

 **[Poison Damage: -10 HP]**

HP/MP: 228/130

I hissed in pain. Poison. That was what it was. Not only that, it was a poison strong enough to overcome my level 9 {Poison Resistance} and render damage. Meaning that without my poison resistance, I would have taken 19 points of damage from that single shot, at the least.

Growling, I directed the flame around me like a tornado, hiding me completely from any and all the attacks.

Feeling the creature hesitate, I lowered the fiery protection to reveal my head. I was sure I looked _terrifying_. Trying to use its hesitation, I raised another hand, _'Incendio!'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 228/100

Another ball of fire materialized above my hand before flames began pouring out of it. Instead of directing the flames directly towards the creature, I guided the flames away from it before slowly curving the flames towards it.

I was a flying thing that was surrounded by a sphere of fire and was _still_ _spewing fire_. Terrifying, or rather horrifying, I was. And it made me feel _so, so very good._

The thing dodged.

Ting.

 **[Poison Damage: -8 HP]**

HP/MP: 220/100

I hissed at the screen; that stupid poison was still working. But I ignored it and circled the fire towards the creature, intentionally missing it by a large margin.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 205/100

Fuck! I felt my wings sing from the fiery tornado protecting me. But if it was working on me then it should also work on it. I focused on the ball of fire that was feeding the flames encircling the creature. _'Incendio!'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 205/70

The flames growled in protest before multiplying, like the flood gates holding them had been opened. I began to guide the flames in a spiral and forced them to move faster and faster, trying to squeeze the creature and cut off its way of escape.

Ting.

 **[Poison Damage: -5 HP]**

HP/MP: 200/70

The creature tried flying up, to dodge the flames, but was met by a fiery wall that was not of my creation. I ignored that fact; it was not important. All that I knew was that fiery wall was helping me trap this thing; this thing that had dared to destroy what was _MINE!_

The creature turned away from the fiery wall as it tried to avoid my flames and instead flew straight towards the ground.

It must have singed itself from my flames as I saw smoke rising from it. I grinned.

Ting.

 **[Poison Damage: -2 HP]**

HP/MP: 198/70

Ignoring the poison damage, I raced the flames towards the creature but it was already under the ground as it had begun digging.

I raced towards it, this time, and reached the hole that it had created. In the few moments it had begun digging it was already out of my arm's reach and if it continued, it would very well escape me.

No. I can't let that happen.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 183/70

I cut off the spiraling flames as guiding them back to me and down the hole would take too much time, time; time that I did not have! Instead, I held my hands right in front of the hole and prepared for another attack. _'INCENDIO!'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 183/40

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 168/40

I ignored the fire damage as a ball of fire formed right in front of the entrance. I grinned as the flames began to pour out and rush in the burrow; lighting up the night a bright color of orange! I waited to hear some signs that the fire had hit the creature but I heard none. Pissed I casted the spell again! _'_ _ **INCENDIO!**_ _'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

HP/MP: 168/10

Flames roared and protested but multiplied as they tried to rebel against my control.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 153/10

The rebellion died before it could blossom as my will came down hard on the flames with an iron fist and the fiery tornado poured out in droves, down the tunnel, burning my hands.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 138/10

I heard faint screeches as the fire finally met its mark and began roasting the creature, that had dared to take away from me, the only thing that I had to lose.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 123/10

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

I grinned in glee at the confirmation of the creature's death.

But I felt hollow.

So very hollow.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

As the adrenaline died down, I gasped.

I panted.

In exhaustion, both physical and mental. Yet, I grinned. I grinned like a loon before cackling. It was dead! DEAD! The creature that had dared to hurt me was **DEAD!** Hurt me, WILL YOU?! **Take away my possessions will you?!**

 **Death. Death is what you'd get.**

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 112/14

Panting and grinning, I cut off both the spells. I gasped and fell next to the hole, tired. Closing my eyes, I tried to calm myself. It was dead. The creature was dead. I tried to take a deep breath in but all I felt was heat, heat and a lot of heat.

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 97/14

I opened my eyes and looked around. Fire. Fire was all around me. Everywhere my eyes saw, there was fire!

' _FUCK!'_

Of course there was fire! I had been throwing fire all around like it was candy while under a bush! Under a fucking bush! Of course it had caught on fire and was burning!

Ting.

 **[-15 HP]**

HP/MP: 82/14

Flapping my singed wings, I hurried away from out of the bush and flew until I was a safe distance from it before turning to look at the destruction that I had caused.

I sighed. The bush wasn't near anything that could spread the fire, so thankfully, the fire would be contained.

Shaking my head to clear it of the stupidity, I turned around and flew to the new home that I had found. This had just not been my day.

Reaching the crevice in the cliff, I settled down and checked my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 8]**

 **[HP: 82/266]**

 **[MP: 14/166]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Master of Death}, {Bullheaded}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}, {Trickster}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.9}, {Doxy Shield Lv.1}, {Drone Eggs Lv.1}, {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.6}, {Ice Resistance lv.1}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.1}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.9}, {Molting Lv.4}, {Night Vision Lv.4}, {Observe Lv.6}, {Occlumens Lv.8}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.8}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.3}, {Sensor Lv.5}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.3}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio }, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

I scowled as I noticed my HP and MP; I had lost 184 HP and 152 MP. What had I been thinking? Just what? I had killed 4 fucking frogs and had lost less HP and MP than this! What the hell!

But then I remembered the little blue screen that I hadn't given any attention to.

One of my many Titles had activated hadn't it? **'[Trickster]** ' it was, if I remembered correctly.

I scowled.

I needed to level up my **{Occlumency}** and I needed to level it up soon.

I scowled. Again! Because once was just not enough!

But before that I needed a way to evolve!

' _ **SLIMY WORLD! JUST KEEP FUCKING ME OVER WHY DON'T YOU! '**_

Now that, that was out of the way, I took a deep breath and dismissed the status. It will not help me, now, at all. I needed to sleep. So that's what I did.

* * *

 **Night 26**

* * *

I woke up, feeling so tired that I didn't even want to move an inch. _'Uhh… just how much HP do I have?'_ Groggily, I summoned my stats; my HP read, **[HP: 130/266]** while my MP read, **[MP: 136/166]**.

I groaned. I had less than even half my HP!

It was no wonder that I felt half dead, I _was_ half dead. _'Uhh. Last night had been incredibly stupid. It was a small wonder that_ _ **{Stubborn}**_ _didn't level up at my foolishnesss, like it usually did. Uhh.. I would have to heal and waste away my MP and that too, at least, thrice to completely restore the stupid bar.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

I frowned as I rolled my shoulders and arched my back; my body felt stiff. Why was that? I checked my HP and MP; they read, **[HP: 265/266]** while my MP read, **[MP: 76/166]**.

Still frowning, I looked around. Right.

I was no longer sleeping on the soft embrace of the earth; instead, I had slept on the hard welcome of my new home, rock. I stretched to crack as many joints as I could.

Crack, pop, crack, pop.

Ah. That felt good.

Standing up, I walked up to the entrance before collapsing on the edge of the crevice. The cold night breeze hit me in the face, making me smile, and the soft moonlight embraced me. I felt at peace as if this night was my world; my home.

I remained there, just feeling the world around me, for quite some time before the thoughts about last night's fight crept in.

I frowned; just where exactly had that fight gone wrong? Why had I lost all the HP and MP that I had?

I scowled. The very first thing that I had screwed up was losing my cool and associating that cockroach-thingy with something that it had no business being associated with. I had taken out all my frustrations, on losing everything that I had ever had, on the creature.

Which neither did that creature deserve and nor did I.

I guess I still hadn't coped with dying, as good as I had thought I had.

I laughed.

Coping with dying! Not nearly dying, simply dying! And, after that, beating myself over not being good enough at it! Such a thing could only happen to me!

As my mirthless laughter died down, I shook my head to clear it of the melancholy -there was no point in dwelling over it- and continued on with the assessment of last night's fight. The second thing I had screwed up was when I hadn't used **{Observe}** on the creature; that was something that had the result on the fight the most.

If I had used **{Observe},** then I wouldn't have been caught off guard by its speed; I would have had some idea about it after all. At the very least, I would have known the creature's species.

The next thing that I had screwed up was the wasteful use of **{Incendio}.** Now looking back at how I used that spell, I looked more and more as a wild animal throwing fire left and right instead of a sentient being using the spell judiciously. I was very lucky that I didn't start a forest fire.

I grimaced. And as if all those mistakes were not all, I hadn't used any kind of strategy until the very end of the fight when I had begun cornering the creature in a tornado of fire. All I had been doing was rishing in with all the subtility of a rampaging bull in a china shop.

It really was a small miracle that **{Stubborn}** hadn't leveled up.

' _Well, it's not as if I can do anything about it now; I'd just have to try to not repeat the same mistakes again in future.'_

Shaking my head, I flapped my wings and headed out, looking for something to eat.

I frowned. _'Did I eat anything last night?'_

My frown deepened. _'For that matter, did I eat anything except 'the gift' the night before that?'_

No; I hadn't. I hadn't eaten anything proper in the last two days. Then why was I not feeling hungry? The only reason that I was heading out to eat today was because it had been something that was a part of my routine and not because I was burning with hunger.

Was this because of **{Overdose}**? I checked my status and looked for the skill.

Ting.

 **[Allows you to consume and store food without affecting your body. Current weight limit: 395/1000g.]**

Huh. This must be it. I remember the current limit being more than 445 out of 1000, when the last time I had checked it. At that moment, I was glad to have the skill because I did not have the capacity to hunt last night and would not be able to in similar situations in future.

Shaking my head to clear it, I flew around, trying to find some prey to hunt. But, for some reason, I couldn't find anything that I was sure I could hunt. Whatever I did encounter, either my senses warned me against or was too insignificant to even kill.

Resigned, I returned to my new house after 4 hours of fruitless search; after all, it wasn't as if I would starve if I didn't eat, I did have that covered with **{Overdose}**.

266/116

Ting.

 **[Skill {Fly Lv.6} has leveled up to {Fly Lv.7}. Flying speed and maneuvering capability has increased.]**

Dismissing the screen, I entered the crevice and frowned. Though the entrance to my new home was hidden, it would be good to have a trap waiting for those that dared to enter my new home. But the problem was that I didn't actually know anything about making traps.

I entered and settled in. Maybe not a trap then. Still, an extra protection would be nice; like a guard or something. But where would I get someone like that? It wasn't like I was rolling in options here?

Hmm. I could get a sentry from the drone egg. But the process was so horrible that I did not want to go through that again. Another option was taming an animal but that had its own problems. The first being, that I could only tame a Level 1 non-sentient, non-evolved animal.

I mean what sort of condition was that! And where in the world would I find an Lv.1 animal! Wouldn't it be hiding somewhere because it was weak as shit? And secondly, taming meant that after the spell had worked, I would have to take care of the animal; like taking care of a pet or a dog.

Not something I could do now, when I was living by the day, every day. No thank you sir.

I guess that left me with the former option rather than the latter one. I made a face; I really didn't want to do this, but, my stupid brain had decided that I had to. Grimacing, I used the skill.

Ting.

 **[-100 MP.]**

Immediately, I felt my stomach turn as a very familiar ache began to spread in my belly. I felt myself gag as bile rose in my throat. I gagged. Then I gagged some more. The egg, just like last time, was trying to force its way out of my throat. I felt it try again, trying to expand my throat beyond its limit.

Pain. Pain was all I felt and fell to floor; unable to stand. As the pain continued to wreck me, I gagged even more. I gagged as the flow of air cut off. I felt the egg hit my tongue and slip over it as it peeked out of my mouth. And then, in one long hurl, a long cylindrical thing fell out of my mouth and hit the floor.

' _Ugghh!'_ I groaned _. 'What in the world came over me that I decided to use this skill again?! This isn't worth anything! Nothing! Not even a sentry to guard my door!'_

Ting.

 **[Skill {Drone Eggs Lv.1} has leveled up to {Drone Eggs Lv.2}. You can now create 3 eggs per use.]**

-Eh? This dumb skill leveled up? Just after two uses? What does it give me now? I focused on the skill.

Ting.

 **[You can lay eggs which hatch to birth Drone Doxies. Current egg limit per use: 3. Current time required to hatch the eggs: 12 days.]**

' _3 Eggs? Are you kidding me?! Where earlier I had been getting 1 egg for 100 MP, now I could get 3 eggs for the same cost! What this even real?! And this much improvement just from one level up? What will this skill give at higher levels? Should-should I level it up a little more?'_

I shook my head; focus! I was back in the crevice to level up my animagus, not some stupid drone skill! That could happen later, not now!

I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes before slowly breathing out. I took another breath in and checked my status. I just had 16 MP left.

A scowl morphed on my face.

Now I had to spend the next 2 hours meditating to obtain the meditation bonus of +9MP so that I could regenerate my MP at +19MP/hour. _'Fuck. This. Shit.'_ I almost growled.

Taking a deep breath in, I tried to calm myself. I failed, obviously. Still, I tried closing my eyes, to at least pretend to meditate. What was it they said? Fake it, till you make it? I guess that was my plan at the moment.

The next time I opened my eyes, just two hours had pssed. I sighed and checked my MP. It was a little more than 50; more than enough for what I needed.

With a tired sigh, I used the skill. _'Animagus.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP]**

Unsurprisingly, besides the MP loss, nothing happened; which I had completely expected by the way. I needed to find the beast representing me and merge with it before something could actually happen. With that thought in mind, I continued breathing.

As the time went on and I continued to meditate, nothing happened besides my Mana filling itself way faster than it should have because of **{Meditation}** bonus. In the end, when I finally came out of a meditative trance, all me efforts amounted to nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I grimaced and sighed; unable to decide which one suited the situation better.

Feeling stiff, I moved my joints and heard them groan in response. Just how much time had passed? I peeked out of my new home; the moon had already finished its journey across the sky and was preparing to set. Huh, 10 hours had passed since I started meditating for the skill **{Animagus}**.

I guess I was done for the day, after all.

Returning inside, I settled in before closing my eyes and using the skill **{Survive}**.

Ting.

 **[-133 HP]**

HP/MP: 133/166

As the tiredness rushed in me, I fell asleep.

* * *

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A/N: I post my favorite reviews, answers to reviews and my when I will update on my Twitter account. Check it out. I can be found on **Twitter** at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**.


	14. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 14

**A/N:** I have a twitter account. Follow me there for favorite reviews, updates and answers to the various questions asked in the reviews.

 **Night 27**

* * *

Nothing.

Bloody nothing.

That's what happened in the entire day today.

I bet the cliff, which I live in, had a more interesting day than the one I had today.

I sighed in more than a little helplessness and irritation.

This boring day had begun like any other day.

I woke up and restored the HP bar. After that I decided that since I do not require food to survive for the next few days, I might as well utilize it and make some headway with the Animagus process.

With that in mind, I had used the skill **{Animagus}** and meditated for the rest of the day.

' _And what do I have to show for all of that? Nothing. Nada. That's what!'_

I scowled in resignation as I couldn't do anything about it but just accept it and try again tomorrow. Still, I should at least try to think positive, shouldn't I? Motivation and all that pile of stinking garbage.

' _It wasn't as if I expected to turn into an animagus just after one day.'_

But my effort to think positive quickly turned sour as my motivational thoughts took a turn for the worse. Yay me and my gloominess!

' _It was just that I had expected some improvement, even a tinge, just something to show that I was working in the right direction!'_

I knew, okay, I knew that Animagus was a difficult art to master but my Dad had done it at 14 and so had his friends. And here I was -a man grown and then some- frustrated just after a day's work.

I shook my head at the thought. _'Am I really whining about not making any headway with the skill just after one day? That is not like me.'_ I shook my head. Violently. The bitching about made it kind of necessary.

But that was not what I needed. What I needed was sleep and to work on the skill tomorrow; that was what I should be doing and n- …not whining.

Shaking my head –again, because it was something that I apparently did now- in disappointment at what I had just been doing, I used the skill, **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[- 140 HP]**

As the sluggishness rushed in me, I dismissed the screen and checked my status; my HP read, **[HP: 128/268]** while my MP read, **[MP: 168/168]**.

I frowned. Sleeping with that much MP would be such a waste when I could generate it over the night. Though, there wasn't much I could do because of the condition that I was in. _'I really should have checked my HP and MP before losing half of my health in one go. Stupid!'_

I sighed. I couldn't level up **{Observe}** now because of the lethargy and, come to think of it, I hadn't been trying to level it up in the past few days. I really needed to remedy that. But that was for later. I needed something for now that did not require me to move. At all.

As I scanned my skill list, my eyes fell on a particular skill and I cringed. I did not want to use that one. And I really meant that. I'd rather eat Dragon Dung than use that skill! That was how much I didn't want to use this skill.

So, with all my hope, I scanned the list again and again and again and again –oh you get the idea- but no other skill popped up that could make use of 120 MP judiciously.

I grimaced. No, not grimaced, I did not grimace because there was no name for the expression of resigned despair that had descended upon my face.

' _I have to use it, don't I?'_

So with dread running through me like blood, I activated the skill. _'Drone Eggs'._

I felt the subtle ache as the process began and mentally prepared myself for the one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. _'If giving birth is anything like this, then I do not know how women do this!'_

The egg began to press against my throat, making me gag and nauseated, and then slowly, ever so slowly, it began to rise up, making me cry out in pain. As the egg continued its ascent, I cursed myself for following through this idiotic plan of mine as bolts after bolts of pain raced though me.

And then it slipped over my tongue, peeked from my mouth and fell on the floor.

And just like that, all the pain, all the discomfort, all the nausea were gone.

The other two eggs followed the first but surprisingly, they did not make me uncomfortable at all; it was as if my throat had been expanded enough by the first egg.

On that note, this experience was also a lot less harrowing than the previous ones. Was it because the skill had leveled up? Or was it because my body had grown accustomed to it?

I did not know the answer to those questions but whatever it was, I was glad for it. And I was glad that the ordeal was over, even though my throat ached like hell as it constricted back.

More exhausted than I had even been in the past few days, after vomiting those eggs, I fell asleep.

* * *

 **Night 28**

* * *

Tonight had followed the script of the previous one too.

I woke up, restored my HP and didn't do anything but try to level up my **{Animagus} s** kill, in which I gained no headway by the way.

I did not let it disappoint me though, like I had let it last night, and decided to try again tomorrow. _'Maybe I am missing something that I shouldn't be? Something very obvious. I do not know. But I will look into it tomorrow night.'_

With that thought, I ended reviewing the day and headed out to try to level up **{Observe}.** There was no way I wanted to waste my MP and I was so not in mood to use **{Drone Eggs}** tonight too.

Reaching out of the crevice, I began using the skill on things I didn't recognize. Though there weren't that many things that fit that criterion so I had to fly around a little and explore some unexplored areas. I used the skill until I had used up exactly 120 MP and stopped after that; I could only regenerate 120 MP a night and I did not want to have less MP in case I needed it.

I frowned. All I did these nights was meditate; which, due to being at level 9, increased my MP regeneration to 19MP/Hour. At that high regeneration, I could regenerate the rest of the 48 MP in the next 3 hours. _'Hmm. Maybe I can use the rest of MP after all.'_

With that thought, I began using **{Observe}** again.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv.6} has leveled up to {Observe Lv.7}. You can now see the MP of the target.]**

Dismissing the notification, I used the skill again, this time on an ant eating a leaf.

Ting.

 **[Worker Red Ant. Strength]**

 **[Level: 38]**

 **[HP: 158/158]**

 **[MP: -]**

I smiled. Indeed, I could see MP now.

Though, the HP of this creature was ridiculously high. 158 points at level 38? There was no way that this was a first stage creature. It had to have evolved once.

Otherwise someone had screwed me up pretty bad. _'And that better now be the case! Do you understand Blue screen!?'_

Scowling at the thoughts, I dismissed the screen as I mulled over the information once again. If I assumed that this ant has had evolved once, then that would explain the HP and the extra 20 points as the first evolution bonus that I had received too.

Nodding, I calmed down and began using **{Observe}** again. I used it until my MP bar was empty. It was only then that I headed back to the new home.

In the hindsight, it was pretty stupid.

Apparently, I did not learn easily.

Gratefully, nothing unexpected happened and I reached the crevice safely. Settling in, I used **{Survive}.**

Ting.

 **[-133 HP]**

As the tiredness rushed in me, I fell asleep.

* * *

 **Night 29**

* * *

Once again, the entire night amounted to nothing of consequence, when it came to progress in the Animagus department. I had -just like the previous nights - spend the entire night meditating under the guise of skill, **{Animgus}**.

I had woken up, restored the HP bar and had continued on to use the skill **{Animagus}** to descend into the meditating trance. Unfortunately, all of that had amounted to nothing even though when I had tried to do things differently this time.

I sighed.

Walking up to the edge of the crevice, I leaned out; enjoying the cool breeze of the night. Even though there hadn't been any progress, now I was able to maintain my calm, because I knew that I was doing everything in my power to achieve my goal.

It was a small consolation, but it was all that I had and I was holding on to it for dear life.

My eyes searched the sky and I noticed that the moon was about to set; it was time for me leave my new home to try and level up **{Observe}.**

Flapping my wings I took off and began my exploration, all the while using **{Observe}** on things and animals that I didn't recognize.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Scent Lv.3} has leveled up to {Scent Lv.4}. Radius for recognition and tracking of a scent has increased to 2 m.]**

It took me some time but by the time the first rays of Sun had begun illuminating the sky; I had completely emptied my MP bar.

As the sunlight began to illuminate more and more of the sky and the world, my eyes began to itch from all the ultra-bright light and my skin began to feel the unappealing warmth of the day. In short, I did not feel good.

Well, it meant that what I had been thinking was true after all; I was indeed a nocturnal creature.

Flying as quickly as I could, I reached my new home and crept in. The eggs were where I had left them and no one was waiting for me inside. Good.

I shook my head. This was not normal.

But then, what could I do? I had never been this paranoid but with the recent destruction of my home, I didn't feel safe anymore; despite the fact that no one but me had anything to do it.

I grimaced. With the way my emotions kept jumping all over the place, I felt like a hormonal pregnant woman _. 'I guess dying really did do a number on me, huh.'_

With a soft sigh, I settled down and used **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-140 HP]**

I scowled at the number. _'Shouldn't it take less and less portion of HP as the skill level increases? But this skill seems to be doing the exact opposite. If this trend continues, then I fear that I would be just wasting my time and my MP at this skill. What good would it be if could not use it to save myself from difficult situations?'_

Shaking my head at the seemingly stupid skill, I fell asleep.

* * *

 **Night 30**

* * *

Tonight, I decided, it would be the last night, when I stayed all night inside. Tomorrow, I would be leaving this crevice and explore the world; enough of the looming walls.

Even though **{Overdose}** kept me fed, I did not want to remain inside all the time. Talking about overdose, it seemed that my current body consumed 25 points from the skill **{Overdose}** for everyday that I didn't eat anything.

And as I had more than 400 points, it could last for more than a few days, to say the least. But that didn't mean I should just rely on the skill. Thus I had initially tried to make the most of my nights of careless meditation. Yet, all my efforts turned out to be for nothing, as nothing happened.

And you know what; I wasn't even surprised, not at all.

Instead, I was kind of getting used to it, which was bad because I shouldn't get used to failures.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean I should be afraid of failures, no. I should not be afraid of failures. But I should not be used to them either; as that would mean I wouldn't even try harder if I failed because it wouldn't be something new.

No, I needed to stop this moronic habit right now, right this instant.

With my decision made, I took a deep breath in and opened my eyes. Tomorrow night, I will not work on being an Animagus, instead, I will work on something that I knew I would succeed in; I will work on the skill **{Mana Control}**.

I knew I would succeed in this skill, not because I was being overconfident or because of some such nonsensical reason, no. I knew I would succeed because I had experience in it. Prior to my death, my wife –well, then fiancé and now a murderous widow- and I had been working on Wandless magic; the art of performing magic without the use of a wand or any other focus.

Its basis had been simple enough, to be in touch with one's magic and to be able to bend it to one's will. And to do that, one had to immerse themselves in their magic, becoming one with it; something which both of us had achieved. The only thing remaining had been the ability to bend it and let it flow according to one's will.

But then I had been killed. So there was that.

I nodded to myself to break out of the morose thoughts. As far as I could tell, MP worked more or less like magic had; it even fueled my spells like magic did. This made it safe to assume that I could apply the principles of wandless magic to **{Mana Control}**.

I smiled; I was feeling pretty good about it actually.

Standing up, I made my way out of the crevice and took to the air; I had a skill to level up. As I explored the area around my new home, I thought about the next night to come.

Tomorrow night, I would have to hunt; something that meant that I would have to conserve my magic tonight or else I would not have a full bar of MP to work with tomorrow. But even if I did conserve the last 48 points of HP, it wasn't like I would have a complete bar of MP anyway.

I would have to use **{Episkey}** at least twice -or thrice- to restore the HP loss due to **{Survive}** tonight and that would eat away at least 40 to 60 MP. If I wanted to avoid that then I would have to conserve even more MP and use **{Episkey}** tonight.

I sighed and began my calculations.

Hmm. If I used **{Episkey}** twice, today, after using **{Survive},** then I would be able to regenerate the rest of the HP, as I slept during the day, and wouldn't have to use the spell tomorrow. But that would mean I would have to conserve an extra 40 MP.

I sighed and continued on with the **{Observe}** and only stopped when I had 88 MP left in my MP bar. And then I returned to my new home.

Entering the new home, I checked the eggs; they were unharmed and my skills assured me that nothing was amiss. I settled down and used **{Survive}.**

Ting.

 **[-133 HP.]**

I grimaced as tiredness rushed in me and quickly used **{Episkey}** twice, just as I had planned **.**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

Sighing in relief, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Night 31**

* * *

I woke up, feeling completely refreshed, like I hadn't felt in a long, long time. _'I guess this is the benefit of waking up with full bars of HP and MP, huh.'_

Stretching, I looked around. Everything seemed about right; nothing was out of its place or missing. Yes, my paranoia was getting the better of me; I couldn't wait for the eggs to hatch so that I could have my own sentries.

Shaking my head to clear it of lingering lethargy, I flew out of the crevice to hunt instead of trying to level up the skill **{Mana Control}** as I had planned; I had a reason for doing so.

The last time I had gone hunting, I had returned empty as I was unfamiliar with the area. And now though I was a lot more familiar, I still had not found a suitable source of food that I could hunt and gain levels from at the same time.

So flying around, that's what I did; I looked for a species that could serve as a source of food and give me enough of hard time that I could gain experience out of hunting it. Looking around, I found nothing that was what I was looking for; I had spent almost entire night looking for the perfect prey.

During all this flying around, I had thought about going back to the frog hunting ground but finally decided against it for two reasons. First, it was very far away from my current location and two, the frog that had escaped would have warned them of my existence.

I guess I would have to try and level up **{Mana Control}** tomorrow night then. I sighed and continued to look for a prey but all of my efforts proved in vain as I found nothing.

Dejected, after an entire night's worth of time was wasted searching for it, I decided to hunt the ants that I had seen earlier.

Now, though I had decided to hunt ants, I had no idea how I was going to do so. Ants are strong. And fast. And have tough exoskeleton. And they are always working together.

I landed on a branch and observed the working ants. They moved in a line, always with a destination in mind, never straying from their destined paths, like golems. Or machines. Whatever.

Though there were some, some that weren't with any groups or were following any line. They were the ants that were looking for food. They were always looking for more food. And when they would finally find their treasure, they would double back and return with lines after lines of workers to loot the newfound source of food. Their treasure.

These treasure hunters often strayed a little too far, in their single minded search. They forgot themselves and their surrounding, with only their goal in mind.

I observed these strayed treasure hunters.

They often seemed lost and confused and were a good source of food; though, I sincerely doubted that I would gain any level from killing these ants. Most of these ants were one evolution below me and did not pose much danger to me.

I sighed; gone were the days when I could kill a prey and receive half a dozen level ups.

Shaking my head to clear it of the melancholy, I searched through my skill list, trying to find something a lot less flashy and attention grabbing like Incendio. The only two that I could even remotely consider using were **{Doxy Shield}** and **{Trap}**. Although, **{Trap}** wasn't something that I could use in itself; after all, it wasn't a skill that created a trap, it just represented setting up a trap to capture my prey.

I frowned. _'Ants have hard exoskeleton, so any traps that I could come up with –not that I could come up with many- would most likely not hurt them much; which would mean I would have to use_ _ **{Incendio},**_ _not something I wanted to do. Besides, couldn't ant climb on walls?'_

Yep. They very well could. That meant I couldn't just trap a linear path and wait for them to fall. These buggers could move in three dimensions.

This left me with the only other option that I could use, the **{Doxy Shield}.** I focused on the skill.

Ting.

 **[A shield the shape of Doxy's (Beetle's) wings forms in front of you. Current Hit Points: 10/10]**

I grimaced. With that low a hit points, it was truthfully useless. Still, wanting to at least know what it was, I used the skill. _'Doxy Shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.]**

' _What! That much MP for such a useless skill!? Are you kidding me! There was no reason to justify this! Not a fucking one!'_

As I raged, a translucent and blue semi-spherical shape materialized in front of me. It was large enough to cover my entire torso but left my head and legs open. It also had a line running vertically through its middle. Essentially, it was a replica of a beetle's shell or rather a Doxy's.

Calming down, I frowned. There was nothing to hold it or grab it anywhere. _'How is it supposed to protect me when I can't even hold it? How am I supposed to move it? With my mind?!'_

The translucent shield twitched.

I blinked.

I blinked again, perfectly mimicking an owl. _'Did this thing just twitched on its own?'_

It twitched again.

And I blinked again.

I thought about moving the shield to the left and the shield moved. Instantly.

I blinked. Again. And I grinned. _'I can see now why it costs so damn much.'_

Smiling, I called the shield to me, wanting to observe the line that ran through its middle. 'Just what is that about?'

I pressed my fingers against the, seemingly useless, bifurcating line and tried to push, to see if it would open.

I flinched at the sudden movement as the shield split across the line and opened in a V-shape. Although expected, I had not truly expected the shield to open up. The edges that had made the line looked sharp and bladed. They looked like translucent blades of a scissor, ready to cut anything that got in between its blades.

I thought about closing the blades and the shield closed noiselessly, reforming into a semi-spherical object.

I opened it again and, very lightly, ran my finger across the blades; it drew blood. I closed it and watched as the sharp bits of the blades ran over each other before getting locked up and assimilating in the rest of the shield. The entire shield was indeed like the blades of a giant scissor.

I grinned. _'Oh this shield is definitely worth the cost!'_

As I continued to work the kinks out of my new spell, an idea formed in my head, about how to hunt the ants. Completing the inspection and how it would work, I used the skill again.

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Doxy Shield Lv.1} has leveled up to {Doxy Shield Lv.2}. Current Hit Points: 20/20]**

Dismissing the screens quickly without bothering to read them –I had more important things to worry about- I tried maneuvering the shields side by side. It was difficult, incredibly so. This skill was not meant to be used as I was using it; two at a time. When I tried to move the first, the second one moved or the two moved together.

It was _not_ easy by any standards anywhere. I was sure of that.

I sighed. _'This is getting ridiculous. Moonlight is fading fast and I need to eat something soon if I want to uphold yesterday's decision and not just rely on the skill.'_

Deciding to master use of two shields together later, I stopped using the second shield and began searching for a prey that would sooth the burning fire in my stomach. I activated the skills **{Stealth}** and **{Sensor}** before taking off, searching for an ant that was alone and confused.

Soon, I found what I was looking for. It was an ant; quite similar to the one that I had noticed before and it was almost as big as my legs and almost twice as thick. _'Observe.'_

 **[Worker Red Ant. Strength]**

 **[Level: 22]**

 **[HP: 142/142]**

 **[MP: -]**

Nodding at the notification, I dismissed the screens.

With one shield in front of me and the other trailing behind me, I crept up on the unsuspecting creature. Focusing on the shield, I tried to keep it floating high up in the sky, and watched as it floated higher and higher. I made it float as high as I could while still keeping it under control.

As it reached its position, I moved the shield horizontally so that it was hovering right above my prey, though it was very high up. And then I made it descend as fast as I could with its blades open.

The ant looked up at the last moment but it did not matter as the blades where already closing in across its neck. The blades hit the creature, doing significant damage before shattering like thin glass.

Disappointing; though not surprising, as I had expected that much after the extremely low hit points that the shield had sported thus, at this very moment, the second shield was already flying towards the ant, with its blades open, to finish the job that the first shield had been unable to.

The blades closed across the creature's neck, delivering the damage before shattering. I took to air and began secreting the Doxy Venom in my mouth –something I was so very glad to be able to do. If the creature was still alive after both the hits, it would be going down to my venom.

Surprisingly, the creature was indeed alive.

Knowing that stealth was useless at this point, I flew at my top speed and spat the venom directly in the wounded area.

Underhanded?

I don't know and I don't care.

I _will_ survive.

The creature hissed in pain and anger but it could hardly do anything at this point. It was wounded, bleeding, and poisoned. It wasn't going anywhere.

Soon enough the shrieks and the thrashing of the ant stopped completely though no pop ups appeared indicating the creature's death. Just to be cautious, I used **{Observe}.**

 **[Worker Red Ant. Dead.]**

 **[Level: -]**

 **[HP: -]**

 **[MP: -]**

Well, that was convenient; the declaration of death that is. But I guessed that once you were dead, no matter what your strongest attribute had been, after death, it doesn't matter much.

Flying down, I gingerly broke apart the still dangling head and began eating the soft and juicy flesh. It tasted like nothing I had tasted before and it was delicious. It felt exotic. In short, I loved it.

By the time I was finished with the ant, moon had already set and the morning light was beginning to make my eyes itch.

' _What a wasteful day.'_ I sighed.

Deciding to forgo trying to level up **{Observe},** as I didn't have the time or the MP, I returned to my new home. Checking over the eggs as I entered into the crevice, I settled down before using the skill, **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-140 HP]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Molting Lv.4} has leveled up to {Molting Lv.5}. Time required for the skill has been reduced by 10 minutes. Total time required: 5 Hours and 20 Minutes.]**

I smiled at the skill level up, it was about _damn_ time. Though at that moment, sluggishness caught up to me, and tiredness rushed in me. To stave it off, I used **{Episkey}** twice, to restore a large portion of my HP.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Sighing in relief, I checked my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 8]**

 **[HP: 216/266]**

 **[MP: 24/166]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Bullheaded}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}, {Trickster}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.1}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.9}, {Doxy Shield Lv.2}, {Drone Eggs Lv.2}, {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.7}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Ice Resistance Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.1}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.9}, {Molting Lv.5}, {Night Vision Lv.4}, {Observe Lv.7}, {Occlumens Lv.8}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.9}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.4}, {Sensor Lv.6}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.4}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Episkey Lv. 9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}]**

Nodding at the notifications, I closed my eyes and feel asleep.

* * *

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* * *

A/N: I post my favorite reviews, answers to reviews and my when I will update on my Twitter account. Check it out. I can be found on **Twitter** at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**.


	15. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 15

**A/N:** I have a twitter account. Follow me there for favorite reviews, updates and answers to the various questions asked in the reviews.

* * *

 **Night 32**

* * *

Waking up itchy, though refreshed, was not a pleasant experience and, no matter how many times I experience it, I just can't get used to it.

I made a face. This was thing that I disliked the most about **{Molting};** the itchiness that would result from exuviate being all over me, making me feel as if I was being eaten alive by ants, the tiny kind and not the huge ones that could shoot out their mandibles like arrows.

Ugghh.

Not a pleasant experience.

As a grimace settled on my face, I began to struggle and move to crack the shed shell. A few moments later, my efforts bore fruit as I heard crack echo in my little crevice. Now that there were cracks in exuviate, it had become easier to move and wiggle even more.

Though, it was still later than I wanted, when I was finally out of the wretched thing.

Turning back to face exuviate, I frowned. The shed skin was a little harder this time than the last time and I had to put in more effort to break out of it. Even its texture was different; whereas earlier is had been all papery and completely inelastic, this time if felt like it had some elasticity and would be able to stretch.

' _Just what is going on with this thing? If this continued, then soon enough I wouldn't be able to break out of this thing.'_

Still frowning, I clutched the shed shell in my hands and flew out of the crevice; I was not going to just let it lie in my new home.

I carried exuviate as far as I could before dumping it in an area devoid of any and all the grass; after all, I did not want predators tracing me with the smell still lingering in exuviate. _'Incendio.'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

Was I crazy to burn my shed skin because of a possibility that some predator might track it back to me?

No.

Was I paranoid?

Maybe. But, as someone I knew always said, _'_ _ **CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'**_

After making sure that none of the shed skin was left behind, I turned around and flew to the ant hunting area. Once I reached my destination, I activated the skill **{Stealth}** along with **{Sensor}** and waited for an ant to wander away from the group.

I had to wait a bit, probably for about two hours, before I finally spotted my next meal. I smiled and flew, as stealthily as I possibly could, before softly landing on a nearby branch. _'Observe.'_

 **[Worker Red Ant. Strength]**

 **[Level: 2]**

 **[HP: 122/122]**

 **[MP: -]**

Alright. It must have just recently evolved. _'Doxy shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP]**

A soft translucent blue shield, noiselessly, materialized before me. _'Hadn't the skill leveled up last night?'_

It had. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Doxy shield. A corporeal magic shield materialized by a Doxy.]**

 **[HP: 20/20]**

' _Hmm. So leveling up the skill means increasing the hit points of the shield? Not bad; not bad at all.'_

Now that the HP of the shield had increased, I wanted to check whether it will last for one attack or not, so I did not use the skill a second time. Besides, I had already lost 30 MP earlier and did not want to waste away MP in case the shield withstood the first attack.

Focusing on my prey, just like last time, I sent the shield high up in the sky before positioning it right above the ant. Then I brought it down, fast, on the ant. By the time creature looked up, the blades of the shield were already closing around its neck.

The blades hit and made it through the exoskeleton, implanting significant damage, before shattering. Disappointing.

Still. _'Doxy shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP]**

I sent another shield towards the ant and tried to finish chopping off the ant's head. Surprisingly, this time, the blade succeeded in decapitating the ant before shattering like thin glass. I grinned and slowly flew down to the still twitching body before chomping down on the warm flesh.

After finishing my meal for the day, I flew back to my new home; I had a plan to follow through.

Reaching the new home, I entered cautiously; checking the eggs as I did so. Everything was alright; the eggs were safe and nobody was waiting inside.

Paranoid much?

…

..

I sighed and settled down.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in, before slowly letting it out; I needed to be in the meditative trance for what I was planning to achieve. Gently, I breathed in again, holding it for a while, before letting it go just as slowly.

In, hold, out.

In, hold, out.

In, hold, out.

In, hold, out and repeat; again and again.

Calmness came over me as I gently began to lose the sense of my surrounding. With each passing sense, I tried to find my way within me; I tried to travel inwards to what made me, me.

It wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be. I had assumed that just because I had done this before, I could do so again without any hitch. That was obviously not the case. I was no longer in my old body and neither was the current me, anymore, same as the before-death-me.

I continued to breath; in, hold, out. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. Rinse and repeat; again and again.

Time passed, slowly and steadily, and I continued to lose the sense of my surrounding until, eventually, all I could sense was me and my body and nothing else.

Serene as ever, I floated in the nothingness as nothing but my body continued to exist. There was no floor, no stone, no coolness, no warmth, no darkness and no light. There was nothing, nothing but me. There was only and only me and my newly acquired, yet ever changing, body.

Slowly I began to sense the thing that was my body and the things that made my body.

I felt my body hair rustling as they tried to notice, sense and feel but failed. I felt my skin as it stretched all over me and tried to feel but felt nothing. I felt my heart beating in my chest pumping and working without fail. I felt the blood rushing in my veins and my wings, never stopping. I felt _life_ just beneath the surface that was my body and everything else that was there to be sensed.

I sensed them all and I sensed more, more than I had ever felt and experienced in this newfound bodice of mine.

And then, finally, I felt my magic; faint, at first, but there nonetheless. It was there, here, everywhere, just beneath the surface, lurking and hiding, but supporting me just as same as my heart. I felt it live; it was alive; it was mine.

I focused on it, as it danced surreptitiously all over me, supporting me and my body. I felt it twitch at the sudden attention -it was after all used to working behind the scenes- before it continued on with its work.

I hadn't realized how magical a creature a doxy was. My magic supported my body as if it was blood. It was beautiful; looking at magic that was. In the ever expanding darkness, the ethereal blue glow of magic was heavenly. It's soft light coated me and shielded my body like a cocoon; from what it shielded me, I did not know.

I felt like I didn't need to know.

I focused on the flow of the magic; from where it was being refurnished, again and again, as it was constantly used up. Tracing back the magic, I found tiny -or rather minuscule- pores all over my body from which magic poured out of.

I was amazed. I knew there were pores in a wizard's body through which magic leaked out –that is why I was looking for the flow in the first place- but I did not know that a doxy would have pours more numerous than the most powerful wizard!

There were pores all over my body; my hands, my legs, my head, my wings; every part, that was a part of me, had innumerous pores and they all were connected back to something, something that was Source of my magic.

I tried to trace the flow down those pores. At first I couldn't, as I was trying to go opposite the direction of flow and the magic opposed me. It fought me. It was an experience, fighting my magic, it was like I was trying to fight myself.

But as I continued my struggle, Magic somehow acknowledged my wish and stopped fighting me all together; instead, it began guiding me, roughly at first, before smoothening and becoming gentle.

My incorporeal consciousness, slowly, continued to swim across the thin streams of ethereal blue magic that existed in my corporeal body as I moved deeper and deeper within myself. The stream turned left and right, it expanded and shrank, it's flow slowed and hastened, yet, I swam without any fear; I was within my body, swimming in my magic. I had nothing to fear.

It felt like hours –the time that I spent swimming in my magic that is- though I didn't actually know how much time I had spent in those ethereal streams; it could have minutes, hours or even days and I wouldn't have known. But, the thing was, that it was never boring in there, as I felt always at peace; always safe. It was beautiful and gentle and nurturing. It was safe.

It was, also, the first time that I had felt safe in this new world.

As the time continued to pass, I felt the magic flowing in the streams increase. No, not increase but rather dense; like earlier I had been swimming through water but now I was traversing through honey. I smiled.

It seemed I was close to my destination; so very close.

And just like that, I slipped into the Source of the stream and my mind exploded!

I felt more, so much more, just more! I felt everything that was me, everything that ever was and everything that ever would be! It was fleeting and fragile! Like a long forgotten dream running through your fingers like sand!

But while it lasted, it was overwhelming, captivating, entrapping and surreal. So, very surreal.

The first thing I assaulted me was the endless and far reaching illusion that was the Source, source of my magic. But immediately after that my sensed were high jacked by the feel of each and every stream of magic that was flowing in my body. I could feel the magic wherever it was and why it was there.

I could feel the magic being generated in the illusionary, endless and the insubstantial Source. I could feel it sliding down from the Source to the veins and I could feel it travelling through all the various veins before it poured out of the pores onto my skin.

I felt all that and I felt even beyond. I could feel the magic coating my entire body, all at once, and I could feel all the pores through which magic poured out. I could feel all those tiny streams that acted as veins and I could feel them everywhere; my hands, my legs, my head, my wings, everywhere.

It was an entire circulatory system of its own, just like any of the other circulatory systems; those like lymph system or blood circulatory system. It had a source and a system for circulating the magic. I tried feeling the source.

It was positively _exhilarating_.

It felt like a solid mass –well, of course- and seemed to be situated just opposite to the heart, on the right side of my ribcage.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

I remained there, in the Source, for time unknown; just enjoying the feel of magic. It was reminiscent of what I had lost; it made me nostalgic, but in a good way. It didn't remind me of the betrayed and the anger and the rage. Instead, it reminded me of wonder, of hope and of sense of belonging. I It reminded me of home.

I sighed, in joy, in contentment and in resignation. I can't possibly just continue to exist within my magic. I had to leave. Though, I didn't want to. I so didn't want to.

So I lingered, I lingered as long as I possibly could before I could linger no more, I slowly I began to pull myself out.

I felt my consciousness move, from the Source down to the veins. And immidietely, the sense of loss was sudden and immense. It was like I had been hit by a train and then run over by a bulldozer. It was overwhelming, far reaching and it shook me to the core.

Shaking and feeling lost, I felt myself travelling through my body as I traversed the magic system existing in me before I finally felt myself exiting the ethereal stream.

I lingered there for a moment, feeling the magic surface and spread like water before I finally disentangled myself from the magic and felt the ethereal glow begin to dissipate and hiding back into my body.

And then, just as slowly it had begun, I felt my senses return to me. And with my sense I began to lose to the sense of loss that that gotten hold of me when I had left the Source. I was a relief. A huge relief. I didn't know if I could have survived with such overwhelming feeling entrapping my mind.

I was so thankful and grateful for the loss of the Sense of Loss that I almost missed the feel of my senses returning.

Hearing was the first to return, and it returned slowly –like a sound of something approaching from afar. It was followed by the sense of touch, which returned a lot faster, like a feather falling onto the skin –tingling and there but still not. And then, all of a sudden, the rest of the senses followed. One moment they weren't there and then they were. It was like sleeping, slowly at first and then all of a sudden.

Smiling, I opened my eyes.

As the scene before me filtered through my hazy mind, I frowned. _'Just how long have I been in the trance?'_

I looked around. There was a lot of light in the crevice; more than I had ever seen, in here, before. But the thing was, it wasn't the soft comforting light of the moon, no, instead it was the warm and too-bright-and-not-inviting-at-all light of the sun.

I moved and immediately felt my body protest. My joints were stiff, my muscles were sore and my back ached as if it hadn't moved in a long time.

It probably hadn't, judging from the excruciatingly painful light.

Ignoring the pained protests, I shakily stood up and flew over to the crevice before peeking out at the sky. My eyes hurt immediately and closed shut, protesting against my decision.

With a groan, I squinted and searched for the very obvious Sun shining in the sky.

Wai-

' _Why is the sun in the direction opposite to which it rises? …Is it setting? Did I meditate throughout the night and through the following day?'_

Oh fuck.

No wonder I was stiff as wood; I had been in one position for almost twenty–fucking-four hours! What the hell!

Shaking myself out of the stupor, I flew back in and noticed the notifications floating around.

 **[Skill {Meditation Lv.9} has leveled up to {Meditation Lv.10}. While meditating, MP regeneration will be increased by 10 MP/Hour.]**

 **[Skill {Mana control Lv.1} has leveled up to {Mana control Lv.2}. Cost of Elemental Manipulations has decreased by 2. Current Cost: 13.]**

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.1} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.2}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

 **[Skill {Occlumency Lv.8} has leveled up to {Occlumency Lv.9}. Your Mental Fortitude has increased.]**

I frowned; **{Meditation}, {Occlumency}** and **{Mana Control}** leveling up I could understand, but why did **{Animagus},** of all the things, leveled up? And why did it level up now and not when I had been trying to level it up for days?

Just what the fucking hell?!

I shook my head to clear it of the fuming thoughts and decided to think about it later. Instead, I used **{Survive}** and followed it by three **{Episkey}** spells **.**

Ting.

 **[-133 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Still overwhelmed from the fact that I had meditated for an entire day, I dismissed all the screens and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Night 33**

* * *

ZZZZ…ZZZ

ZZZ...ZZ

ZZ...ZZZ

* * *

 **Day 33**

* * *

I woke up briefly but the sight of sun's illuminating rays put me back to sleep. So, yeah, I slept for entire 24 hours. I know. No need to comment.

* * *

 **Day 34**

* * *

I woke up, feeling stiff but relaxed, and stretched to pop my joints. _'Ah. That's the feel.'_

Flapping my wings, I took to air and headed to the ant hunting ground; I was hungry and though I was positive that my stomach would not burn holes in my belly, I did not want to stay crammed inside a wall like had been doing for the past few days.

Activating the skills, **{Stealth}** and **{Sensor},** I landed on a branch a little out of the way of ants. I had no intention of being spotted by their soldier ants as I didn't believe my skill, **{Doxy Shield},** would be able to stand against them; it could barely stand against the worker ants. Though, I could always roast the hell out of them, if push came to shove, but it was not something that I wanted to do.

Way too flashy.

It took sometime but I was finally able to lock in on my next prey. It was another worker ant, from what I could tell, but it was larger than usual; it was almost as big as my entire arm. _'Observe.'_

 **[Worker Red Ant. Strength]**

 **[Level: 75]**

 **[HP: 195/195]**

 **[MP: -]**

Hmm. As I had expected, it was a much higher level ant than what I had hunted before. _'Doxy Shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.]**

A blue translucent shield materialized in front of me. And knowing that a single shield was not going to cut it, I cast the spell again. _'Doxy Shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.].**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Doxy Shield Lv.2} has leveled up to {Doxy Shield Lv.3}. Current Hit Points: 30/30]**

Wincing -that was a direct loss of 100 MP out of my, recently constant, pool of 168 MP- I guided both the shields in position before bringing the first down, as fast as I could, with its scissor like jaws open that snapped back close as they rounded against the neck of my target.

The creature looked up at the last instant, and tried to move out of the way, but it was already too late and the jaws closed shut before shattering like glass. As the shield broke apart, I brought the second one down and tried to decapitate the ant.

And even though the second shield shattered like glass too, after performing its task, the ant still lived and was even able to move. I frowned. _'Observe.'_

 **[Worker Red Ant. Strength]**

 **[Level: 75]**

 **[HP: 75/195]**

 **[MP: -]**

' _Oh Fuck! This thing still has 75 points left!'_

And if my calculations were correct, then my shields did a damage of 60 points, so even one more shield will not leave it dead and I will have to use poison because I wouldn't have enough MP for more shields.

' _If I have to resort to use poison anyway, then why don't I just use that and save 50 MP that another shield will cost me.'_ Nodding, I decided on that course of action and took off.

I flew towards the ant and soared as low as I could without getting in the ant's melee range. I pooled the Doxy venom in my mouth ready to spit it in the open wound.

As I neared the creature, it turned to face me and raised it head. I smirked. The stupid creature was giving me an easy shot by raising its neck. As I took a deep breath, getting ready to spit the venom out, the mandibles rushed towards me as if they were shot through a gun.

I tried to dodge the attack at the last moment but as I wasn't expecting any retaliation, I failed. The mandible hit me in the abdomen, hard, and imbedded itself.

Thud.

Ting.

 **[-50 HP.].**

Thud.

Ting.

 **[-50 HP.].**

' _Oof.'_ The wind was knocked out of me. Though, the pain hadn't set in yet; either due to shock or due to adrenaline, I did not know. And I did not care. What I did know, though, was that I had to utilize this time before the pain set in and distracted me. _'Doxy Shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.]**

Deciding to forgo trying to save the MP, I sent the third shield towards the ant as I flew away and landed on a branch nearby. The creature tried to dodge, but the condition it was in didn't allow fast and jerky movements; as a result, my attack hit home.

And then I waited. No matter how much HP was left in the ant; it would not survive the blood loss resulting from 3 open neck wounds.

And it was as I was waiting that the pain hit me like a truck of bricks. I flinched as tremors ran through my body. I tried to hold back the pain -this was not the time to be breaking down under pressure and pain- but failed and pain continued to hit me like lightning, muddling my thoughts.

Still, I held. Or tried to.

Wincing, groaning and grimacing, all at the same time, I waited for the creature to die and, meanwhile, I observed myself to inspect the damage.

I flinched. Both the Mandibles had stabbed me in the right side of my abdomen and were causing blood to trickle down slowly. For a moment, I thought about pulling out the mandibles out of me but then the sight of blood reminded me that those mandibles were possibly blocking most of the blood loss.

I turned to my prey; it lay unmoving. Thank fully. _'Observe.'_

 **[Worker Red Ant. Dead.]**

 **[Level: -]**

 **[HP: -]**

 **[MP: -]**

Flapping my wings, I flew towards the creature and landed. Clutching the ant by its thorax, I tried to fly but the creature was way too heavy for me to fly with. I grimaced. I did not want to use _that_ skill. But I didn't want to eat this ant in the open even more.

Grimacing in pain, I used the skill, **{Ant's Will}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP.]**

Immediately the flight became much easier and I began to fly towards my new home with my food clutched between my arms. It was already a tiresome job and the wounds weren't making it any better.

By the time I reached the house, I had to use the skill 4 more times, as once used, the skill only lasted for 2 minutes.

Panting and leaking blood, I fell onto the floor of the crevice and gasped as the pain, which I had been ignoring, hit me with renewed vengeance. Flinching, I checked my stats; my HP read, **[HP: 116/266]** while my MP read, **[MP: 14/166].**

I grimaced at the MP; with just 14 points I couldn't heal myself. Cursing, I tried to calculate how much time it would take to regenerate the 6 HP points. With 10 MP regeneration, it would take me a little more than half an hour to regenerate, but I didn't think that was a good idea.

But if I could meditate in this condition –which I highly doubted- I would be able to reduce the time by half, as **{Meditation}** gave me an extra regeneration bonus of 10 HP/Hour because it was at level 10.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pain as best as I could.

Maybe it was the skill **{Pain resistance},** or perhaps something entirely different, but slowly and steadily I was able to ignore the pain and slip into the meditative trance.

As time passed, I felt my mana regenerate; maybe I could now because, now, I was aware of the magic and the magic system in me. Or perhaps it was something completely different. I did not know and I couldn't be bothered, at the moment, to care for.

I opened my eyes and checked my MP; it read, **[MP: 21/168]**.

With a sigh, I took hold of the mandibles in both of my arms and pulled. _'Oof! Fuck!'_ Immediately, the blood that the mandibles had been blocking started to gush out. _'Episkey!'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

I felt the spell activate and instead of letting it do its work, I guided the magic towards the two open wounds; trying to stop the blood loss by healing the torn blood vessels. I tried to remain as calm as I could and continuously used breathing exercises to distract me. Still, the panic was very real as the blood continued to pool beneath me.

I shook my head, what was wrong with me! I needed to be strong! Instead, I was trying to stave off panic! This was not me!

Steeling myself, I forced myself to calm down and let the magic work and slowly, steadily, the blood loss stopped.

Ting.

 **[Spell {Episkey Lv.9} has leveled up to {Episkey Lv.10}. It now restores 50 points of HP.]**

Ting.

 **[Title [Master of Death] activated. Spell {Episkey Lv.10} has leveled up to {Episkey Lv. Max}. It now restores 55 points of HP.]**

Ting.

 **[Title [Healer] gained.]**

Surprised at the unexpected notifications, I blinked before reading them and smiling. This was indeed good. Finally something good happened to me!

With the smile plastered on my face, I focused on the new title.

Ting.

 **[Granted to the Monsters that master a healing spell that does not use divine powers. It allows the user the ability to learn Healing Spell Trees. Also grants the spell {Mother's Mercy Lv.1}]**

Well, that was mostly useless as it grants me the ability to learn Healing Spell Trees rather than granting the Spell Trees themselves. Still, it did give me a new spell, which was I focusing on at the moment.

Ting.

 **[You pray to The Mother for her Mercy. At a sacrifice of 50 MP, it heals 1/11** **th** **of the HP. Mother is patient, yet indifferent. The spell can only be activated once per day without incurring its Wrath.]**

I frowned; 1/11th of my HP would be somewhere near 25 points, wouldn't it?

I scowled. This spell was the definition useless, or rather completely useless. It consumed way too much MP compared to the healing spell that I already had and gave little to nothing in return. And what was that about only being able to use once a day? And why would I incur Mother's Wrath by using the twice?

And who was this Mother?

Bloody useless was whoever it was.

Dismissing the thought with a frown, I breathed a sigh of relief and closed my eyes again; I could regenerate 20 MP, for another spell, in an hour if I meditated. I stopped.

Or I could use **{Molting}** ; I had to use the skill today anyway. And if I used the skill, I could then spent the rest of the day restoring the HP loss, rather than waiting to restore enough MP to heal an open wound that could get infected any second.

Nodding at the thought, I checked my HP, it read **, [HP: 161/266].** I winced; it would be cutting a little too close to my liking but it really was the better option. With a sigh, I used the skill, **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-140 HP]**

As tiredness, rushed in me, I fell asleep.

I woke up a few hours later and checked my stats; my HP read, **[HP: 29/266]** while my MP read, **[MP: 21/166].**

' _I guess I slept for two hours then, judging from the regeneration.'_ Though tired, I began struggling and wiggling; exuviate, as usual, was extremely itchy.

Soon enough I was out of the shed skin and set it aside before using the spell to restore the HP. _'Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

My HP now read, **[HP: 84/266]**. At that moment, my eyes fell on the corpse of the ant, bringing the cause of this mess to the forefront/ I scowled and began to chomp down on the meat with vengeance. The stupid ant should have died silently. But no! It had to give me a hard time. Why? Why was anything in my life never easy!

I sighed. This was beginning to tire me out.

After finishing my meal, I spent the rest of the day meditating to restore the MP.

By the time moon was ready to set, I had been meditating for 8 hours straight, which caused my MP to read **[MP: 160/166]**. Then I checked my HP; it read, **[HP: 116/266]**.

Right. My HP regenerated at 4 HP/Hour, which resulted in merely 32 additional HP.

I sighed. This meant that I had to heal myself 2 more times. Irksome.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

Satisfied, I checked my status.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 8]**

 **[HP: 266/266]**

 **[MP: 120/166]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Master of Death}, {Bullheaded}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}, {Trickster}, {Healer}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.2}, {Ant's Will Lv.3}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Crawl }, {Dig Lv.9}, {Doxy Shield Lv.3}, {Drone Eggs Lv.2}, {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.7}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Ice Resistance Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.2}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Lv.10}, {Molting Lv.5}, {Night Vision Lv.4}, {Observe Lv.7}, {Occlumency Lv.9}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.6}, {Poison Resistance Lv.9}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.4}, {Sensor Lv.6}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.3}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.4}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio Lv. Max}, {Episkey Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv. 10}, {Expecto** **Patronum Lv. 10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv. 8},{Protego Maxima Lv. 8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv. 5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}, {Mother's Mercy Lv.1}]**

With that had happened tonight, I was more than happy to close my eyes and fall asleep.

* * *

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* * *

A/N: I post my favorite reviews, answers to reviews and my when I will update on my Twitter account. Check it out. I can be found on **Twitter** at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**.


	16. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 16

**A/N:** My update schedule has changed; I now update once every two weeks, on Mondays. Also, I have a twitter account. Follow me there for favorite reviews, updates and answers to the various questions asked in the reviews.

* * *

 **Night 35**

* * *

I woke up, feeling relaxed and refreshed before stretching to pop my joints. As I arched my back, my eyes fell on the exoskeleton of the ant, which had been my food last night, and exuviate that I had shed.

I grimaced; getting both those things out of the house will not be fun job. And then I would have to burn them somewhere so that they don't lead any predators back to me. _'Ugghh… so many unnecessary chores.'_

I straightened up as an idea hit me. What if, I burned them both right here, in the crevice that I now called home? I wouldn't have to take it out then. And it wasn't as if there was a risk of fire spreading out; after all, I lived inside a stone cliff.

Still, I looked around, searching for something that will cause the fire to spread out of hand but all I found was stone and the eggs. I moved the eggs to the farthest corner of the crevice. I _did not_ want them to get destroyed again.

' _Maybe it's not a bad idea after all.'_

Deciding to follow through the idea, I piled up both the shed skin and ant carapace together and flapped my wings to fly up to the entrance. After all, I did not want to be trapped inside if things did go south. I was not _that_ stupid; I knew about the air and stuff.

' _Incendio.'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP.]**

A ball of fire formed in front of my hand before flames poured out of it and raced towards the pile that was to be burned. Dried and flammable as the substances were, they caught on fire pretty quickly before smoke began to rise from fire.

The smoke filled my house before escaping through the only opening that my house had; the entrance where I was perched. The hot smoke hit me in the face scorching me and making me cough my lungs out. _'…Okay…so maybe it wasn't a good idea after all.'_

Ting.

 **[-15 HP.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Fire Resistance Lv.1} acquired.]**

Grimacing, I flew away from my house before landing on a branch nearby. Settling down, I focused on the new skill.

Ting.

 **[You resist heat and fire damage to a certain extent. Resistance increases with level. Fire Damage has been reduced by 2 to -13 HP per turn]**

Well, that was pretty straight forward. But then again, what more should have I expected from a resistance skill? Though, a reduction of 2 points in damage just because of resistance was pretty descent.

Dismissing the screen, I took to air and flew towards the ant hunting ground. There was no way that my newly acquired home would be hospitable for the next few hours; what with all the smoke and all.

Activating **{Stealth}** and **{Sensor},** I landed on a branch a little farther away from where the trail of ants was passing through and waited. It took me sometime but I finally found a lone ant wandering far off the trail; most probably a scout searching for new sources of food.

Ironically, it would now be my food.

Locking on the target, I flew towards it before landing silently on a branch nearby. _'Observe.'_

Ting.

 **[Worker Red Ant. Strength]**

 **[Level: 51]**

 **[HP: 171/171]**

 **[MP: -]**

Well, alright. This one wasn't that strong an ant; which meant usual protocol could be applied. _'Doxy Shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.]**

' _Doxy Shield.'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP.]**

Using the skill two times, I sent both the translucent shields up in the sky with some difficulty. The shields wobbled and flew off the course but I somehow managed.

' _I really need to practice trying to maneuver two shields at the same time.'_ Making a mental note for now, I guided the shield, although shakily, directly above the ant before dropping the first one down on the ant with its sharp bladed jaws open.

The ant flinched, as it sensed the movement, but it was a little too late and the jaws of my shield were already closing in on the creature. The blades hit the creature and, surprisingly didn't shatter. Which surprised me more than it should have and caused me to lose focus for the next few precious seconds.

Thus, in my surprise, I waited a moment too long to attack the creature and it began thrashing around.

Coming back to my senses, I mentally pried the jaws of the shield open before closing them again jerkily.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

I blinked.

' _Right. That used to happen when I killed my prey. Huh. Has it really been that long since I last leveled up?'_

Huh. I guess it has.

Shaking my head to shake the thought off, I flew down and began to chomp down on my food; I was hungry and soon enough, the only thing left of the ant was its carapace.

I frowned; I still had one perfectly good shield left, which -apparently- could now withstand one direct attack. Hmm. I could go back to the house and use the shield tomorrow night or I could use it now.

I thought about following through the first option but then I remembered that smoke must still be lingering in there; which made my decision for me. _'Alright; another hunt it is.'_

By the time I had found, hunted and eaten another ant, 3 hours had passed and in the meantime, I had receive-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Stealth Lv.3} has leveled up to {Stealth Lv.4}. The chance of others overlooking your presence has been increased to 14%.]**

Dismissing the notification, I turned to face the direction of my house. _'Smoke should have cleared up by now.'_ Or at least I hoped it had.

Flapping my wings, I took to the air and flew back. Entering the crevice, I felt the heat lingering in the alcove, though, the smoke had indeed cleared itself. I grimaced. There was soot everywhere. And by everywhere, I meant everywhere; every nook and cranny that was in the crevice, was covered in soot.

I checked the eggs; there was soot deposited even on them.

Raising my hand, I used the water spell, for the very first time. _'_ _Aguamenti._ _'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP.]**

A small blue orb materialized above my hand before a jet of water poured out of it. Guiding the jet to spots where soot had been collected, I began to wash my abode; something which I spent the next two hours doing.

148 MP

I grimaced; after the work that I had to do because of burning those things here, I was seriously regretting my decision. Still, there was nothing that I could do about it now; I would just have to remember not to make the same stupid mistake again.

Now that my home was clean again, I settled down and closed my eyes; ready to try to level up the skill **{Animagus}**. Although, I still had to figure out why the skill had leveled up, when I had found out about magic system. It made no sense.

How in the world was magic system related to being an animagus? Well, of course, magic was involved with the entire animagus process but the system with which it flows throughout the corporeal body? Not so much; that I knew for a fact.

So why had the skill leveled up? Was the magic system somehow related to the skill? No, that couldn't be it. Animagus was an incredibly spiritual process while magic system was a completely corporeal thing; they couldn't overlap.

Then why? Why the level up? Was there something that I was missing? If I was, then what was it? What was I missing?

No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't figure out the reason why **{Animagus}** had leveled up when I found out my magic system. For the life of me, I couldn't see how they could overlap. I sighed in resignation.

Opening my eyes, I was greeted by the dimming light of the setting moon. _'I guess I would just have to try again tomorrow night.'_

Ting.

 **[Spell {Night Vision Lv.4} has leveled up to {Night Vision Lv.5}. Your ability to see in the night has increased.]**

Dismissing the screen, I flew out and began to explore the area to try and level up **{Observe}.** It took me sometime to expend 80 MP on the skill. Though, I would have used all 120 MP -which I could regenerate in one night- but I had to use **{Episkey},** twice, later to restore the HP bar, so I refrained.

Returning back to the house, I used **{Survive}**.

Ting.

 **[-141 HP.]**

I grimaced as sluggishness rushed in me and, to counter it, I restored my HP. _'Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

I sighed in contentment before closing my eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

 **Night 36**

* * *

I woke up, feeling relaxed and refreshed. It was quite a nice feeling to wake up to, I decided; especially after the usual spells of tiredness that had been greeting me in the mornings.

Finishing my stretches, I flapped my wings and took to air; I had some ants to hunt.

It took me almost 2 hours to find, hunt and eat two ants, the size of my arms, and cost me a 100 MP.

Returning to the house, I entered the crevice carefully before checking up on the eggs; they were fine; everything was fine. There were no predators lurking in the dark anywhere.

I nodded in satisfaction.

Settling down, I closed my eyes to meditate, before I opened them as a thought crossed my mind. I had the skill **{Fire Resistance},** didn't I? Maybe I should try to level it up? After all, it wasn't as if I couldn't cast a fire spell. And I had a feeling that the skill would come in handy when I finally started working on **{Fire Manipulation}.**

I frowned. But wasn't that a fire hazard? I looked around. Maybe I should try it tentatively before making anything permanent? Hmm. I could cast an **{Incendio}** and leave it, in its initial form of the fireball, in a corner so that it was just far enough to be uncomfortable but not close enough to actually burn me.

Huh. That could actually work. Nodding at the idea, I raised my right hand and used the spell. _'Incendio.'_

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

38 MP

A small fireball materialized above my hand and just as flames began to materialize, I began compressing the ball, trying to reduce its size. The fire struggled against me as it refused to be contained –as was the nature of fire- but I too refused to yield to the will of an inanimate thing.

I was not willing to give in to anyone else's will; not even if it was the nature of the very being.

I will survive.

As the struggle continued the sphere began to reduce in size; giving in to my will.

As I continued to compress the fireball, I felt the temperature of the ball rising, slowly and steadily. Knowing better than to let the ball float above my hand and burn me, I levitated the fireball away from me and towards the entrance.

Ting.

 **[-13 HP]**

I grimaced; it seemed I had not been fast enough, if the fire damage was any indication. Finishing guiding the fireball, I placed it strategically below the entrance; after all, I had no intention of suffering the howling hot winds of sub-Saharan environment.

Huh. What was I talking about?

Hello. I knew my basic physics. I knew that fire heats the air causing it to rise up. And if I let the hot air get trapped, without a way out, I will be sweating buckets as the cool air of my abode was replaced by hot winds of Sahara. So no, I was going to give the hot air a route to escape by placing it below the entrance.

Anyway, setting up the fireball, I found the place where I was far enough from it to not receive any fire damage, yet, felt uncomfortable. Though, I lost about 40 HP in the process.

Settling down, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in before I slowly, steadily, let it out.

As I began to slip in the meditative trance, I tried to think about the reason the skill, **{Animagus},** had leveled up. Yes, just like last night, I came up with nothing. Frowning, I decided to head to the source of the problem, the magic system and its very source.

Directing my consciousness, I felt myself beginning to lose my senses, slowly and steadily; I let it happen.

Soon enough, I back within the ethereal blue flow of magic as it danced and traversed across my skin. The enchanting sight almost made me want to linger but, knowing how I could get lost in the beautiful sight, I digressed and continued to flow.

The exhilarating experience of traversing the veins of the magic system guided me down to its very beginning, The Source, for which I didn't have a name yet.

Reaching my destination, I felt giddiness overcome me as my magic greeted me, embracing me. I smiled and savored the sensation; I wasn't feeling lonely for the first time since my death. Or birth. Or reincarnation.

Whatever.

I looked around, trying to find anything in my surrounding, which could surpass the corporeal nature of the body and connect with the spiritual plane.

I found nothing; all I could see was the ethereal blue glow that was my magic.

I tried to search more around myself; yet, I found nothing but ethereal glow that seemed to surround me in an endless world of magic.

Huh?

Endless world?

I frowned.

Wasn't the source some sort of organ that was situated in my ribcage, opposite to my heart? So how could it be endless? It was a physical thing and even if it was where my magic generated itself, it could not be endless. _'I am sure it's just an illusion, as I had suspected it to be, the first time I had come here.'_

Though, just to be sure, I tried to find the end of the illusionary endless world that I was in. I found veins and branches that led, and fed, different part of my body but they were not what I was looking for. I was looking for the unknown wall -which _**must**_ exist- that would mark the end of the beautiful place I had found myself.

I searched and I searched and I searched but I found nothing. No matter in which direction I traversed, no matter how far I traversed, there was always more area to traverse; there was always more territory to cover. This place seemed ever expansive; endless.

B-but how? How could that be!? How could this place be endless!? How cou-

Wai-!

Was this the connection that surpassed the limits of the corporeal body and merged with the spiritual one? Was this, The Source, the manifestation of the spiritual in the corporeal? Was The Source somehow connected with my soul? Is that why **{Animagus}** had leveled up?

I felt my heartbeat jump at the thought.

Was it because I had found a path to my soul and that path lead through the source of my magic? That would make sense if that was true. After all, magic was a part of one's soul.

But-

That would mean that The Source could lead me to my soul; my actual very soul.

And it would not lead just me to my soul; it would lead anyone to my soul.

…

…Holy Shit!

Adrenaline rushed into my veins as I felt my breath hitch.

That was dangerous. That was incredibly, stupidly, dangerous.

Souls were supposed to be left untouched, pure. They should not be tampered with, ever, because the end result was never pretty; Voldemort being the prime case in point. But if I had a _physical_ way to reach my soul, then so would other being!

Oh Fuck!

That meant people would have tampered with souls, experimented on them as if they were just another organ, like humans had done. I-

I gasped. This could not be true. It just couldn't be.

Because if it was, then this was the most screwed up thing I had ever had the misfortune of coming across.

I traversed further, trying to reach were I thought this endlessness would lead; yet, at the same time, I was hoping – _praying_ \- that I was wrong. I had to be wrong. I did not want a physical manifestation, of a route to my soul, in my body.

And that too in a vulnerable body of a doxy. No, I did not. I just did not.

So I searched and traversed and searched some more. I searched and searched but I found nothing. I found nothing that gave any indication of this organ being a direct route to my soul.

A small hope began to bloom in me.

Maybe I was wrong after all; maybe this all was just an illusion and this Source was like earth, round and spherical so that no matter how much far you go, you'll never run into a wall.

My hope blossomed even more as I continued to search and found nothing.

Yes. That could very well happen. Actually that was what was most probably true and I just freaked out over nothing because of my Paranoia with a capital P.

' _Moody had really rubbed off on me more than I had initially thought, huh. Even his insanity seemed to have touched me.'_

I sighed in relief. _'Way to wound yourself up mate. And that too over absolutely nothing.'_

I felt something then, something different; something that should not have existed in an illusion of endlessness.

I felt a familiar sensation, as if I had returned home.

My heart dropped.

It could not be true. I had just decided that. I could not be true! It could **not be!**

Shakily, I flowed forth and the blue glow began to subside to reveal what it had been hiding all along; something so innocent and pure that it was dark and sinister.

A dark outline began to emerge; a very familiar outline. It was an outline of a thatched hut, and beyond that, an outline of the dark looming trees.

' _The Forbidden Forest.'_ My mind supplied.

My heart dropped further and I backtracked.

I couldn't take it anymore.

No. It wasn't true! It was all just an illusion! I was not carrying a route to my fucking soul in the _fucking pathetic body of a Doxy!_ _ **I was not!**_

I kept on backtracking, rushing out of the beautiful danger that could destroy me; annihilate my very existence. I rushed through my magic, I rushed through the infinite endlessness and I rushed through everything in between without minding anything around me.

I left The Source.

I could not be there, not after what I had just found. I felt myself floating down the veins of my magic and I could not care less. I could not care about the magic that was flowing in it and I could not care about the magic that was traversing on my body, **no, not my body but the Doxy's body**.

I floated away from the glowing blue form that represented me and I continued to float away! I couldn't care less about how I was freaking out **because I was freaking the fuck out!** **It was a thing to freak the fuck out about!**

Anyone would be if they had a way to their fucking soul in their body!

Now anybody could manipulate my soul if they ever got hold of The Source! Not just Dementors! ANYONE!

Dementors were scary not because they killed people but because they _ate the very_ _soul of their prey!_ It was final! It was cruel! Something even the darkest of families had considered worse than death! And now anyone could do that to me! Anyone!

My senses began to return to me, one by one; my hearing, my sense of smell and touch. I could feel again.

Disbelieving the entire situation, I shakily opened my eyes.

I was panting; gasping for breath. I tried to control my breathing but it was coming hard and short. I tried to take deep breaths but I failed. I tried again and again but I failed each and every time.

I tried to think about something else; something other than what I had just found but I came up with nothing. There was nothing in this world to ground me anymore. I had nothing to my name.

I tried again, I would not fail myself again and give in; I would **not**!

 **I refuse.**

I looked around and my eyes fell on the eggs. **MY** Eggs! Yes. They were **mine**. They would be hatching soon; **very, very soon**. Likely in three or four days.

 **They were mine.**

Yes. They would; they sure would. They would hatch soon.

I felt my breathing lengthen.

This was good; this was very good.

And when they would hatch, I would have someone; even though they would be drones, I would have them. **They will be mine.**

My breaths become even longer and longer. Maybe they could evolve; like me. Yes. That would be nice.

But the chances of that were very slim. Wasn't Doxy the last evolution available? Still, it would be fun to have someone around; even though they were a drone. **They would be mine.**

My breathing finally relaxed. It came in lengthy breaths as I tried to calm myself even more. I tried to take deep breaths to calm my thoughts and it worked, my thoughts slowed. They didn't race anymore.

' _What is wrong with me!? Another panic attack!? And I almost fainted! Again!'_

This was not me. I do not get panic attacks. I do not freak the fuck out. I ramble through the situation, with all the grace of a bull in the china shop, but I do not freak out.

Something was tempering with my mind. Something had to be.

' _Something is wrong here. Something is so very wrong._ '

Was this because I had a body of a prey that I was acting like this? Was it because I did not have the safety of being an apex predator? Was that it?

Come to think of it, haven't I been way too comfortable with eating insects, ever since I was reborn? I would never have even thought about eating insects in my last life but here, in this one, I was eating them like they were the most delicious thing ever. Where had my inhibitions gone? What was happening to me?

I stopped thinking.

No.

I could not go down that route, not at this time, at this moment. I just had a crisis over one thing; I could not deal with another one.

I would deal with this one later, when I had not just finished packing over something; when I was a more emotionally stable than I was now.

Okay. Alright. I had a route to my soul in this doxy body. I had a fu-

Fuck it. I have had enough of this fucking day. I need to sleep and deal with this shit later.

' _Molting.'_

Ting.

 **[-141 HP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

I just closed my eyes and waited for sleep to overcome me.

* * *

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* * *

A/N: I post my favorite reviews, answers to reviews and my when I will update on my Twitter account. Check it out. I can be found on **Twitter** at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**.


	17. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 17

**Night 37**

* * *

I woke up and checked the eggs; they hadn't hatched yet. That caused a frown to morph on my face. _'Isn't it time already?'_

Leaving the eggs, as they were, I turned to face the fireball heating up my home and again, a frown etched itself on my semi-humanoid face. _'Why haven't I leveled up in_ _ **{Fire resistance}**_ _yet? I should have by now. I have, literally, spent an entire day near it, being extreamely uncomfortable..'_

' _Do I need more time to level it up? Or do I need to get closer to the fireball so that I could get in the range of receiving fire damage?'_ I did not know the answer to any of those questions but, as I was already working on the first one, I decided to give it a little more time.

' _Still, could it be that me being a Doxy is stopping me from gaining the skill? Is it because Doxy is a creauture of cold that I can not have the fire resistance skill?'_ I grimaed and hoped that that was not case. I did not want all of my work to go to waste.

Turning to leave, I noticed a few screens hovering a little away from me. My frown deepened. ' _Where did they come from?_ _Were they the result of last night's meditation?'_ It would have to be just that; after all, I hadn't done anything worth getting notifications last night, other than the few spells, and I had dismissed notifications resulting from those.

Walking up to the notifications, I began to go through them.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.2} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.3}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

 **[Skill {Mana Control Lv.2} has leveled up to {Mana Control Lv.3}. Cost of Elemental Manipulations has decreased by 3. Current Cost: 12.]**

 **[Skill {Meditate Lv.10} has leveled up to reach Intermediate Level. Tier up bonus of + 10 MP/Hour granted. Tier up bonus skill {Concentrate} granted.]**

 **[Skill {Meditate Lv.10} has evolved to {Meditate Intermediate Lv.1}. Additional MP regen: +21 MP/Hour.]**

Wow. Additional MP regen of 21 MP/Hour? That was more than twice of my original MP regeneration! That meant that while meditating I would have a total MP regen of +31 MP/Hour!

Wow.

Just wow.

But that brings me to another point.

Why hadn't Meditate reached the Max Level, after leveling up, like **{Crawl}** had? Why did it move onto the Intermediate form? What was the difference between the two skills? And even if this was the _thing_ –the different ways of skill level up that is-why hadn't it happened with **{Crawl}**? Why hadn't it evolved to Intermediate?

And what was this Teir up bonus skill? Will I get this type of skill everytime another skill Tiered up?

I scowled; so many questions and so few answers. And there was nothing that I could do about it.

Resigned to my current fate, I sighed as my scowl melted into a frown and I squinted at my new skill, **{Concentrate}** , in confusion. What was this now?

Oh, right.

This was what had happened with **{Crawl}** too, hadn't it? **{Crawl}** had given me the skill **{Slide},** although, that had been when **{Crawl}** had reached level Max. I frowned and dismissed the repetitive thought and instead, focused on the new skill.

Ting.

 **[Allows you to use Meditation Regeneration bonus, for your MP, without Meditating. Regeneration bonus will be the same as regenerating bonus during Meditation. While the skill is active, you cannot move out of (N-1) centimeters radius of the initial point of skill activation. Using this skill does not level up the skill {Meditate} and viceversa. Current safe distance: 0 cm]**

Cen-Centimeters! Does this Blue screen even knows how much of a distance a centimeter is! Of course it doesn't.

Stupid Blue Screen.

Grimacing, I dismissed the screen and took to air; leaving the fireball where it was as I wanted to see how long would the spell last, if I just let it be.

Reaching the area that I had dubbed as the ant hunting ground, I began hunting. It took me some time to find, hunt and eat the two ants the size of my entire leg. Although, just as I was about to hunt the second ant, I had heard a tell tale sound.

Ting.

 **[Spell {Doxy Shield Lv.3} has leveled up to {Doxy Shield Lv.4}. Current Hit Points: 40/40]**

By the time I returned to my house, two hours had passed. Entering the crevice, I checked the eggs; they were fine; everything was fine.

Calm down paranoia.

Shaking my head to clear it, I settled down and closed my eyes to meditate.

As I meditated, time continued to pass; slowly and steadily. And as it passed, I slowly lost my senses and found myself back in the ethereal magic system that traversed my body.

I paused.

Staring at the glowing blue veins, I hesitated. Should I traverse the veins to what I had found? Or should I not?

After all, I still hadn't dealt with the fact that I, apparently, carried a way to reach my soul within my body. I shook my head, even if I did carry it – _which I did_ , my brain unhelpfully supplied- it wouldn't mean anything until I died; something which I didn't plan on allowing to happen.

This meant just one thing; it meant that I had even more incentive to evolve, now more than ever; I just cannot not evolve.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

Succeeding to some degree, but not completely, I decided against venturing any further in my soul. I didn't think I was ready yet, not after the near meltdown that I had last night. Instead, I decided to level up **{Mana Control}** by intricately studying the magic system and its various veins and channels.

The rest of the night I studied the veins and channel that emerged from the Source and traversed through my head. I traveled along the magic as it flowed and tried to remember where the veins opened up on my skin. I studied the magic as it flowed and the quantity of it in each vein; it would be something that would be really helpful when I needed to route mana through those channels.

I spend the rest of the night just studying the mana pathways through my head; such was the complexity level of the channels. By the time I heard a familiar noise and opened my eyes, moon was already beginning to fade.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Mana Control Lv.3} has leveled up to {Mana Control Lv.4}. Cost of Elemental Manipulations has decreased by 4. Current Cost: 11.]**

Dismissing the screen, I flapped my wings and took to air; I hadn't tried leveling up **{Observe}** in quite a few days and it was about time that I gave the skill some attention again.

Heading out, I began exploring the area and spent nearly 80 MP on the skill. I wanted to use more MP but I had to be smart here. While sleeping, I could only regenerate 120 MP in 12 hours, which meant that if I wanted a full HP bar the next night, I had to leave at least 48 MP unused.

Then there was also the little tidbit that I had to spare 40 MP for the two healing spells that I would have to use after using **{Survive}** ; which meant I had to spare a total of 88 MP, leaving only 80 MP for leveling up **{Observe}**.

Keeping a strict check on the MP bar, I spent the designated MP, before returning to the crevice.

Checking the eggs and the still ongoing fire, I settled down on the exact spot that I had been occupying for the past day to level up **{Fire Resistance}**.

' _Survive.'_

Ting.

 **[-134 HP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

I just closed my eyes and waited for sleep to overcome me.

* * *

 **Night 38**

* * *

Tonight had passed just like last night. It had been as if I had a routine that I had been following.

Huh. Come to think of it, I did have a routine. Although, there had been one minor change; when I had woken up, I had been greeted with a familiar blue screen floating above me.

 **[Skill {Fire Resistance Lv.1} has leveled up to {Fire Resistance Lv.2}. Fire Damage has been reduced by 2 to -11 HP per turn.]**

Dismissing the screen, I had begun the night with hunting 2 ants the size of my legs –one to feed me for the night and the other to save the meat in the skill **{Overdose}-** before returning to the house. Entering the crevice had been as nerve wrecking as always due to my newfound paranoia due to finding a fucking physical path to my soul.

After checking the eggs and the fireball simmering beneath the entrance, I had settled down; my paranoia had been satisfied for the moment.

Though, tonight, I had moved closer to the fire, as my original position hadn't felt as uncomfortable as it should have. I had guessed that it had been the **{Fire Resistance}** leveling up that had made me comfortable with my original spot, thus the change.

The rest of the night had passed with me meditating to reach the meditative trance where I could feel the ethereal blue glow of the magic flowing through me, in my veins and channels in my left arm. Once there, I had spent –almost- the rest of the night studying the various veins of the magic system and their magic capacity.

My obsession had paid off though, as I had heard a very familiar sound as I had been finishing the last vein.

Ting.

 **[Spell {Mana Control Lv.4} has leveled up to {Mana Control Lv.5}. Cost of Elemental Manipulations has decreased by 5. Current Cost: 10.]**

The blue screen announcing the skill level had been my little alarm, telling me that it was time to once again go out but, this time, instead of hunting, I had to spend my MP trying to level up **{Observe}.** It wasn't something that was very difficult to do; I had just flown around and used the skill on things that I hadn't recognized.

Spending the predetermined amount of MP -80- I had returned and settled down in my new spot by the fireball.

Feeling the heat rolling off of the ball, I had marveled at the fact that the spell was still going on. How long had it been? Two days? And the spell was still going on? Why was that? Shouldn't it have dissipated by now?

Hmm. If the spell didn't dissipate in the form of a fireball, did that mean I could save my excess MP as fireballs to use later? If I could do that, it would be such a useful thing. Hmm. I would have to test the theory tomorrow night. But wait.

When did I have extra MP to experiment?

I sighed; I had to carefully ration my MP for usage each and every single day. If I wanted to experiment, then I would have to use the MP designated for some other purpose, most likely **{Observe}**. Not something that I wanted to do.

I frowned. I really didn't want to do that. I had been already ignoring the skill for the past few days.

Another sigh escaped me; I guess that meant shelving the thought until later, much later. _'Ugghh. If things continue to go like this, then I would have a backlog of ideas a mile long. Ugghh.'_

Grimacing, I closed my eyes. ' _Molting.'_

Ting.

 **[-141 HP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP.]**

* * *

 **Night 39**

* * *

I woke up to the sounds of cracks and wiggles. Drowsy and confused, I frowned, before opening my eyes; which, by the way, did nothing at all, as exuviate was covering me from head to toe, including my eyes.

After I was free from the shed skin, I tried to search for the source of the sound as I looked around. My eyes soon landed on the eggs as the sound echoed once again in my new home, the crevice.

CRACK!

The source was definitely one of the four eggs.

Looking closer, I noticed that one of the eggs seemed to be hatching. _'Ah, yes. I had_ _ **vomited**_ _–not laid, definitely not laid!- one egg at first and the other three had followed the next day.'_

Wiggling over to the eggs, I waited with baited breath for the creature to come out of the shell. This would be the very first being that would neither be my prey, nor my predator.

A concept so different, from my current way of life, that it almost seemed foreign.

I shook myself out of melancholy. Now was not the time for that.

It began small; as cracks after cracks spread out over the shell, like spider's web, before, all of a sudden, a piece fell off. Just like that.

Beneath that opening, the small thing that it was, something slimy and purple wiggled. It was gross, to be completely honest, yet, it was transfixing for some reason. So I just watched, unmoving and silent.

And then, lazily -or better to say, tiredly- a slime covered tiny hand fell out of the shell. It fell like it was dead, something which it was obviously not. The tiny, and slimy, hand wiggled around, testing the newfound freedom.

As if satisfied, soon the other hand followed and it too tested its foreign environment. It flinched and struggled and tiredly tried to move and in between all of that, cracks ensued as the web continued to expand its domain.

As the creature continued to test its hands, the rest of the shell fell apart, finally unable to hold itself up, revealing the not so beautiful creature hidden inside.

Truthfully, it was one ugly thing.

The creature was small, barely reaching height of half my knees, and covered in slime. Its wings were wet and unusable. It was, all in all, a miniature Doxy. _'Really, what else had I expected? The skill's name literally is Doxy Eggs.'_

Shaking my head to clear it of the useless line of thought, I focused back on the newborn creature. The creature, in the time I had zonedng out, had tried to stand but its balance was off and it fell, comically at that, tumbling as it did.

Smothering a smile, I watched the creature for a few minutes before I felt something surpass my Occlumency with a breaze, like it was nothing, and materialize in my mind.

' _Wha-'_

Alarmed as I was by the ocurrence, it did not help that panic started flodding my thoughts.

Instantly, without any other thought, I closed my eyes and retreated into my mind, as stealthily as I could, to search for the intruder. At this very moment, not only was my mind was at risk but also was my soul.

It was what I had feared the most. It was the situation that made my toes shake in fear. At the moment, my very soul was in danger.

Deathly afraid of what I would find, I materialised in my minscape, which as I had noticed ealier, represented the Hogwarts grounds with Forbidden Forest looming at its horizon.

Poking around the green lawns whose end heralded the beginning of the ominous forest, a place I knew was my mind, I was greeted by an archway. Of sorts.

The arched doorway that was made of stone, stood oddly amongst the familiar field of green grass; it's presence nonthreatening, yet foreign all the same. Its shimmering and convulsing pathway led to a place that seemed to be nothing but sheer emptiness, like a blank canvass waiting to be painted.

It was another mind, for what else could it be. Yet, the strange inviting presence that seemed to ooze out of the archway was comforting. And patient.

Like it was waiting for me to come and change it; waiting and _wanting_ to mold it to my will.

It was nonthreatening in all and every way imaginable. It was inviting. It was patient.

It felt like it belonged there; like it was as much a part of my mind as the wooden hut, that looked suspiciously like Hagrid's, or the Dark Forest that had a striking resemblance with the Forbidden Forest.

It was _mine_.

Still, cautiously, I crossed the archway and found myself lying on a rocky surface with a doxy close by; a doxy which had its eyes closed and was meditating.

I frowned. Why did this feel familiar? Why did th-

Wai-

' _Is that meditating Doxy me!? Am I in the mind of the Drone Doxy that just broke out of its egg?'_

Retreating quickly, I opened my eyes and found the Drone Doxy staring at me from where it was lying on the floor. ' _Huh. It really is a drone then.'_

Moving closer to the doxy, I tried to speak, to give it a few orders but, being a Doxy that I was, my efforts failed.

A resigned sigh escaped me. Doxies did not speak; from what I remembered about them. Instead, they shrieked and screeched to confuse their prey before going in for the kill. They were mere creatures, not intelligent or sapient being that could talk and communicate.

So I decided to try another approach.

I tried to play with this newly acquired drone, the game of Dumb Charades. I tried, again and again, to mimic the actions, for it to get up, but the stupid being just continued to lay there, unmoving and dumb.

I tried to make some sort of screech patterns to make it sound like I was saying something, but even I could not understand what I was trying to communicate, so how would the Drone.

A frown materialized on my face.

Just how did the Doxies communicated back in my world? How did they coordinate amongst themselves for the hunt?

I massaged my forehead as I felt a headache approaching.

If I couldn't order this new Drone Doxy around, then I would have to feed and clean it until I figured out how to order it to do those things on its own. It was babysitting at its worst.

And I did not have the time for that kind of nonsense.

I so, _so_ , did not have the time to waste.

There were a plethora of skills that needed to be leveled up and a backlog of ideas that needed to be experimented on, and the list just kept on increasing and increasing, making me fall behind more and more on my to-do-list.

My eyes fell on the rest of the eggs and I groaned.

Just one egg had hatched today but there were still three others remaining that would, most likely, hatch tomorrow night; quadrupling the headache that was this dumb drone.

UGGHH!

' _How am I supposed to control four Drone Doxies when I can't even order just one?! How! Just how!Ho-'_

Okay.

Calm down.

This was not a big deal. Stop trying to make it into one.

Deep breaths.

Deep breaths.

Don't overreact. Control yourself. Don't let anything control you.

I breathed in deeply, before slowly letting it out.

In and out, in and out my breaths went, until my brain stopped panicking.

I scowled. Whatever it was that was messing with my brain, and causing me to panic at every little problem, was really starting to get on my nerves. Overreacting over such simple things was not me. Uh huh, not at all.

Eyeing the creature lying on the ground, I decided to use Observe.

 **[Doxy Drone. Venom.]**

 **[Lv.1]**

 **[HP: 5/5]**

 **[MP: 20/20]**

Huh. It had MP; which, incidentally, was more than its HP. What ridiculousness. What would a drone do with that much MP if it died because of its extremely low HP?

Stupid Blue Screen and its stupid System.

Though, if it had that much MP, could it use Magic? Or perhaps magical skills like **{Doxy Shield}**? Though wai-

This was a drone, wasn't it? So that meant that I should be able to control it, rather than ordering it. Hmm.

' _But how am I supposed to do that? Am I supposed to use the arch that had materialized in my min-'_

-Eh?

' _I can't think of any other reason for its presence.'_

Not having any other option available, I closed my eyes and moved behind my Occlumency shields, to the link that had manifested within my mind. Traversing it, I again found myself observing the world from a perspective that wasn't mine.

Marveling at the ridiculousness, I tried to move but the drone's body was weak, very weak; it could not even support its own weight.

But as it tried to stand, and promptly fell, it did confirm one thing. This archway was indeed the way to control the drone.

As I fell, a grimace morphed on the Drone's face, as it mirrored what I was feeling.

Crept out by that display, I tried to call up the Drone's stats; not sure whether it would work or not.

Ting.

Apparently, it did.

 **[Unnamed] [Skills] [Spells] [?]**

Pleasantly surprised that my hunch had worked, I smiled. _'So I can call up the stats of my Doxy Drones?'_ That was reassuring. ' _Though, it seems that I would have to be in control of them.'_

I could work with it.

Knowing what the options were, I focused on the only option that would give me the useful information; the **[Unnamed].**

Ting.

 **[** **Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy Drone]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Lv.1]**

 **[HP: 5/5]**

 **[MP: 20/20]**

 **[Titles: [Trickster], [Drone]]**

 **[Skills: {Doxy Shield Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.1}, {Ice Resistance Lv.1}, {Night Vision Lv.1}, [{Poison Creation Lv.1}: {Available: Intermediate Venom: Doxy}], [{Poison Resistance Lv.1}: {Intermediate Venom: Doxy: Resistance Lv. Max}], {Scent Lv.1}, {Sensor Lv.1}]**

Oh. Wow. _'This useless Drone is not that useless after all; I mean, just look at those skills. It has more of those than I had when I was born.'_

Not only it had all the skills that I had inherited, when I had evolved into a Doxy, but it also had some more.

Bu-

-wow.

The information difference between what I got from **{Observe}** and what I got from the Status was so huge that it wasn't even comparable. And this difference was at **{Observe Lv.7}**.

Shaking my head to clear it of the useless thought, I turned back to task that I had originally come here for. _'Lie down comfortably.'_

To my pleasant surprise, the drone obeyed the mental command. Hmm. _'Would I have to always be within its mind to command it? That would be extremely tiresome.'_

Deciding to experiment with this telepathy of sorts, I retreated from the drone's mind and found myself at the manifestation of the link in my mind, that is, the archway that seemingly led to sheer emptiness.

Without crossing the threshold of the door, I focused on my link with the drone and tried to order it to raise its hand. I failed.

I sighed. Well, it was not as if I had expected to succeed on my first try. Now it was all about rinse and repeat until success was achieved.

I sighed again. _'How tiresome.'_

It took me sometime –well, a lot of time, truthfully- but I was finally able to achieve my aim and was able to successfully communicate with the drone without traversing through the link to reach its mind; though I still had to be within my mindscape to achieve this tiny feat.

Still, it was a breakthrough and I was glad to have finally achieved it.

My giddiness, at that moment, was disturbed by a loud screech whose origin was not me.

More than a little confused, I was broken out of my reverie. Looking around, my eyes fell on the drone lying on the ground with a pained expression on its face as it screeched.

I scowled and traversed my mind to reach the manifestation of the link. _'Shut up.'_ I ordered.

It did.

Good.

' _What's wrong?'_ I tried to convey the question and in return I only got vague feelings of pain and burn in my stomach.

I sighed. _Of course_.

Of course the damned creature was hungry and now I was on baby feeding duty. Pathetic thing.

I grimaced. Well, it was not like I could leave it hungry, now could I? After all, I was the reason that it was alive in the first place.

' _Wait, silently. I'll be back soon.'_ I grumbled and lefty the crevice that was now my home.

It did not take me a lot of time to find my prey. It was a newly evolved worker, at level 2, and was the size of my arm. What did consume a lot of time, though, was waiting for it to stumble away from the horde.

So when the worker finally did wander away, my shield descended upon it mercilessly. It took one shield to injure it fatally and after that I simply waited for life to ebb away from the walking ant carcass.

[-50 MP]

As I flew down to the now dead ant, light began to diffuse across the night as dawn showed it too bright face, perishing the sweet darkness of night.

It caused a sigh to escape me. I would have to do with just one kill today as it was already morning and I had a hungry creature waiting for me.

Deciding to feed the creature today's hunt, as I could rely on **{Overdose}** which had 75 points of food and I required only 25 for a night, I tried to lift up the carcass.

But just my luck, it was too heavy for my tiny Doxy body to lift and fly at the same time.

Frustrated, I used the skill **{Ant's will}**.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Ant's Will Lv.2} has leveled up to {Ant's Will Lv.3}. Time Duration has increased by 1. Total effect: Strength x3. Time Duration: 3 minutes.]**

Although I was happy for time increase, I still had to use the skill two more times before I reached back home. As such, I was not in a good mood.

[Total -20 HP]

And as I was just about to enter the cre-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Sensor Lv.6} has leveled up to {Sensor Lv.7}. Depth and Limit of sensing increased.]**

I dismissed the notification. It was not important at the moment. What was important was, was checking if my crevice was safe or not.

From what **{Sensor}** and **{Scent}** were telling me, it was.

Entering the crevice, I found the Drone lying on the floor, in the position I had left it.

I sighed. The stupid thing had not moved even an inch. It had, obviously, taken my orders word for word.

I sighed again and retreated back to my mindscape. _'Come and eat up.'_

The thing moved, albeit tiredly. Which was understandable, it has just been born this night and it was only now, after almost 12 hours, that it was being fed for the very first time.

I was sure it counted as abuse of some kind but, for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to care; especially for a drone that was little more than a living carcass.

The creature ate the meat slowly, obviously using every bit of energy it could muster. Still, neither pity nor sympathy rose within me. All that I felt was vague sense of irritation for having to hunt for the drone.

It was definitely weird, I realized all of a sudden.

I, a person who had been intimately familiar with hunger from a very young age, should have sympathized with another being's starvation. Yet, here I was, realizing this very important tidbit, but feeling nothing but slight sense of annoyance.

I grimaced. If previously I had had doubts that something –or someone- was messing with my mind, this would have ended those. But I didn't have such doubts. I was sure that my mind was being messed with. The constant panic attacks were a major sore point and something that I hadn't experienced in my last life.

They were more than enough proof, in my opinion at least.

A burp attracted my attention then. Well, it seemed that the drone had its fill for the night; though, there was still quite a bit of meat left. It had eaten less than fourth of the meat.

I frowned. Although, I had no intention of sharing that creature's meal, I could not just let the meat go to waste; the mere thought was repulsed by my instincts. I couldn't do that, not after the life that I had lived and the life I was living now where I had to fight for every morsel that I ate.

No, the food couldn't go to waste. Bu-

But I could not bring myself down to a level where I could eat food that had already been eaten by _a_ _pest, a Doxy._ No, I was human. Or had been human. I was better than that.

I was definitely better than that.

Confused, irritated and more than a little conflicted, I decided to let the meat roast by putting it near the ever burning ball of flame that was my spell and feed the resulting cooked meat to the next bunch of drones that would, most likely, hatch the next night.

With a plan set for the next night, I ordered the Doxy to stay as far away from the spell as possible and resumed my position that I had chosen to level up my **{Fire Resistance}**.

' _Survive.'_

Ting.

 **[-135 HP]**

As the sudden tiredness ran through me, I shuddered. No matter how many times I experienced the sudden loss of health, it still managed to unsettle me.

Still, all things considered, it mattered little.

Though, an unintentional sigh escaped me as I reviewed the night that I had had. And the thing that bothered me the most about it was that it had been utter wasteful.

I had not made any progress on any of the fronts that I had wanted to work on. All of the night had been wasted on the damned drone and in its care. I hadn't had the time for myself or to work on things that I had wanted to work on.

And that would simply not do.

I sincerely hoped, for the dumb drone's own wellbeing, that this was not something that would continue.

I had wanted drones to help me out and to fight my loneliness. But if these creatures became a hindrance in my goal of gaining strength, then I would gladly choose the loneliness over useless company.

With that last thought, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

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A/N: I post my favorite reviews, answers to reviews and my when I will update on my Twitter account. Check it out. I can be found on **Twitter** at **Man_Spectacled** or under the username: **Reborn a Bug!**.


	18. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 18

**Night 40**

* * *

Loud cracks, resonating as if they were the descent of thunderstorm themselves, woke me up. They rebounded and amplified themselves as they echoed in the tiny crevice that I called home.

Though the closest thing, that my sleep addled mind could relate the sound to, was booming firecrackers bursting in a splash of noise, light and fire; something that triggered my paranoia when I had yet to be fully awakened to even begin comprehending the situation.

Alarmed, drowsy and more than a little confused, my mind stumbled around as I tried to find the source of this clearly unnatural sound in the middle-of-nowhere forest.

Though, all my feelings were quickly quashed, leaving me feeling more than a little foolish, as my eyes came to rest upon the remaining set of the eggs that had spider-web of cracks decked all over them.

I scowled. _'Talk about overreaction.'_

Sighing, I ignored the eggs –having seen the grossness of it once, I had no intention of repeating the experience- and headed toward the obviously overcooked ant and poked at its meat. It was dry, hard, and chewy –in the unpleasant way- and more than a little burnt. All in all, all around inedible to anyone raised in any kind of civilization.

But it would do.

The creatures that were supposed to eat this were not beings that would complain. Or could complain for that matter.

…

Whatever.

Not exactly any kind of important fact that was.

Though, it did bring to the forefront, the casual callousness that I had for the creatures that I had a hand in creating. _'Why is that? Shouldn't I be, I don't know, a little bit more nurtu-, no, not_ _ **that**_ _,_ _ **never that,**_ _but sympathetic, yes, sympathetic, towards them?'_

Was it because they were drones? Was it because they were clearly not human while I associated myself with being human? Or was it because I was not hum-

 **NO**.

I MIGHT not have a human body but my mind **WAS HUMAN** , my soul **WAS HUMAN** , no, my soul _**IS**_ human. My body might be a monster's, but I was not one.

A shudder ran down my spine, a shudder of disgust and suppressed rage.

That thought was not something that I wanted to think about again. Or ever. Especially not when my life and my sanity were on the line here.

Though, that line of unpleasantness was abruptly cut off, as I felt my Occlumency being breached like it wasn't even there. For a moment fear struck me like a lightening stri-.

CALM THE FUCK DOWN!

This was not the first time.

CALM DOWN!

This had happened before.

Calm down!

This was nothing new.

Calm down.

-before reasoning settled in.

Taking a shuddering, yet deep breath in, I turned around, only to find all the drones out of their eggs and lying on the floor like the living carcasses they were.

I sighed and hoped they could, at the very least, carry out my orders competently. Or rather, I would even settle with these stupid things carrying out orders without disturbing me. Even that would be acceptable. Though, from what I had seen of the one that had hatched, the chances of that happening were slim, extremely slim.

Holding back a grimace, I took the overcooked meat out of its shel-

' _Merlin it's hot!'_

-and placing it in front of the drones to eat, I collected the broken eggshells to throw them someplace far enough so that their scent won't attract any being that I didn't want attracted; which was a category that included each and every living thing; except me that is.

As I turned to leave, a thought stopped me. _'What will these dumb creatures be doing while I was away? Lying around being lazy?'_

No. No, that just won't do.

I did not need lazy or time wasting subordinates; I needed competent ones. And maybe, just maybe, if I forced them from the very beginning, to utilize their time to the fullest, then they could learn a thing or two about it.

Though, to be entirely honest, the possibility of that happening was miniscule. These weren't sentient or instinctual beings, these were drones. For all sort of purposes, they were mere breathing carcasses.

A sigh escaped me as I retreated within my mind. Manifesting near the archway, I found three additional archways, all leading to the same unnerving emptiness that symbolized the mind of the drones; empty and without any individual thought.

I scowled. _'If this continues, then my mind might as well be a sponge; what with all the holes in my defenses. Or Swiss cheese. Unfortunately, I don't know which I prefer.'_

Ignoring the useless line of thought, I focused on all the archways and I tried to –as of yet- the apparent wastes of flesh, their orders. _'Eat and try to wander around. Don't go out of the crevice and_ _ **stay away**_ _from the fire.'_

I failed.

 _Obviously._

I had –barely- managed to achieve the feat, of communicating with a drone _while_ being in my mind and not its, just last night and now I was trying to communicate with all the 4 drones, all at once?

Stupi-

-but I had to try.

There was no harm in trying.

Still, I was not willing to waste time now, thus, instead of trying to finish what I had begun, I send the order to the drones separately and made my way out of the crevice.

Reaching the hunting area, with the skill trio of **{Sensor}, {Scent}** and **{Stealth}** active, I settled down to search for my prey for today. In the mean time, I remembered that I had not healed myself yet, so I did that.

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

As the time passed while I waited for a Worker to stray, I noticed something, something unusual that was not usually the scene. There was, it seemed, an increased presence of Soldier Ants in the area that I usually hunted in.

I frowned.

Had the ants noticed the near daily loss of Workers? And had they taken steps to counter the problem?

No, that can't be it. Ants were not smart enough to understand such a problem and then take steps to _counter it._ _#_ No matter the size, ants just can't be that smart. They were insects, _pests_ , not beings with brains and sentience. They couldn't do th-

-but they had.

They had increased the presence of Soldier Ants to safeguard the Workers. Somehow, these mindless creatures had taken an intelligent decision. How? Why?

I did not know.

And, truth be told, nor did I care.

All I needed was food. And strength. And these mindless ants would give me at least one of those things.

Thus I waited.

And I waited.

And I waited some more.

And just like that 4 hours passed, with me doing nothing but waiting silently for an ant, _any_ _ant_ , to stray. Though, this rest period had one favorable outcome; in that 4 hour period I had restored my Mana Pool. Bu-

-but that was not the point. The point was that it took me more than usual time just to find my prey as none of the mindless pests were wandering away from their path.

The entirety of my wait finally paid off, as an ant finally strayed away from the unnaturally straight queue of the mindless creatures that were these ants.

As I followed the creature, while still in **{Stealth},** I used **{Observe}** on it.

The results, though, weren't anything fascinating; this one too, just like the one that I had hunted last time, was a young one; barely reaching Level 9. Maybe that was the reason that it had strayed even after the increased security. Or it wasn't.

Whatever the reason was for its straying, I wasn't interested much in that.

I was much more interested in hunting it down, which I did and with ease too. All it took was a **{Doxy Shield}** chopping its neck, leaving the carapace exceedingly cracked and broken, and after that I just waited for it to die.

At that point, the question of what to do with the carcass emerged. I could either take it to the drones to feed them or eat it myself.

I was tempted to go down with the latter option, considering that I hadn't eaten last night too. And though I hadn't needed food last night, it was the base of things; I hadn't eaten anything last night and that was that.

Although, considering the time that it had taken me to hunt down just a single Worker, I expected nothing fast paced happening when I hunted next time.

Grimacing, I made my decision. And it was to go down with the former option as I had **{Overeat}** supporting me in case I couldn't find any more ants to hunt –which very well might be the case if the night had been any indication. Thus I decided to take my first hunt of the day to the drones.

They needed food much more than me.

Not something that I was happy about. And that unhappiness allowed the vague annoyance, which I had for drones, to raise its head viciously, allowing irritation towards drones to creep in; resulting in a scowl materializing on my insect-oid face.

Hefting the dead ant, as I had expected, had only been possible due the skill, **{Ant's Will}** , which I had to use 3 times.

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

And that annoyed me even more. I hadn't lost a single bit of HP, but as I had to feed the drones, I had lost 30 HP unnecessarily because I had to carry the stupid carcass to them.

Thus, unsurprisingly, I wasn't in any kind of good mood when I reached home.

This, obviously, resulted in me wanting to stay away from the drones at the moment. And that was not because I couldn't take out my irritation on them as they were mindless corpses, I very easily could, but because, I didn't want to.

Just because I wasn't feeling sympathetic towards the drones, didn't mean that I had to be an asshole to them just because I was irritated.

I was better than that.

I was definitely better than that.

I wasn't a bully.

I shook my head to clear it of that unpleasantness as I flew back to the hunting ground. Now was not the time to be distracted by ridiculous thoughts.

The rest of the night passed by slowly; with nothing gained in all that time. As no matter how much I tried, I couldn't find an ant that had strayed away from its path. It seemed that the security had been increased even more, especially since my last hunt a while ago.

Grumpy and irritated, I flew towards the clearing with the flower Moon Glow. Landing softly on the spirit flower, I started using **{Observe};** I had, after all, neglected the skill long enough and it needed some much deserved attention.

With that thought, I began using the skill on each and every thing that I hadn't used the skill before. Though, to my surprise, I found little of those things. It seemed that I had used the skill to observe most of the things in the clearing.

I sighed. For some reason, I was reluctant to leave the clearing. I did not know what it was, but being here always calmed me down somewhat, as if I had regained something that I hadn't even known I was missing.

Hesitantly, I said goodbye to the clearing and flew away. I had a skill to level up.

It was almost the time for dawn to blind me with its overly excessive brightness when I heard a familiar sound.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Observe Lv.7} has leveled up to {Observe Lv.8}. You can now see the Name of the target.]**

' _Well, good enough I suppose.'_

Quickly finishing the rest of the 130 MP designated for the skill, I returned to the crevice only to find the drones crawling around, away from fire, almost dead on their feet.

I scowled.

These idiotic drones had continued to drag their bodies about even when they were exhausted beyond measure. They could have at least stopped when they couldn't mo-

I sighed.

These were drones. _Drones._ They didn't think. They just followed orders. It was my own fault for leaving them with such an absolute set of instructions, without considering the state of their minds.

With a resigned grimace morphing on my face, I ordered the creatures to eat and sleep and made myself as comfortable as I could on the hard stone floor too before using the skill **{Molting}**.

Ting.

 **[-145 HP]**

Grimacing at the inflated number and the sudden influx of lethargy, I healed myself.

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

' _Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

As a bit of energy returned, I felt myself relax and closed my eyes.

* * *

 **Night 41**

* * *

Waking up was, after quite some time, a pleasant experience. There were no aches, no tiredness and no wounds anywhere. It was my own small piece of heaven.

So, _of course,_ it didn't last.

Soon enough, the drones woke up and started screeching, destroying my momentary peace. And by screeching I mean the ear shattering, high pitched noise that made my skin crawl in disgust.

I almost burned the stupid things alive for some peace and quiet.

But I digress and merely scowled at the drones. Maybe a little bit too menacingly but it didn't seem to affect the drones.

I was _**not**_ their servant. And I was _**definitely**_ _**not**_ their parent. These things could hunt and feed themselves if they were hungry. Or die of starvation for all I cared. I had no need of useless possessions.

With the scowl still etched onto my face, I retreated into my mind and ordered the mindless things to follow me outside.

No sooner had those burdensome things done so, they tried to take off into the air, like me and staggered and wobbled in air.

I sighed mentally; tired already. _'At least I didn't have to teach them how to fly. I would kill them myself if they were that useless.'_

It took those cumbersome things some time, okay _a lot of time,_ before they finally settled enough in air for me to even consider taking them along. Till then, I had been planning on leaving them on their own.

Kinda like I had been.

…

..

Whatever.

With a grimace plastered on my face, it seemed nowadays that it was my permanent expression; I arrived at the Ant hunting ground with the parade of dumb bodies following me.

And we were, by no means, subtle.

Not that we were loud or attracted attention to ourselves, no, we were just very, very, visible. A trail of doxies was not, in any way, easy to hide. And considering that out of all the doxies, it was just me that had any semblance of self, being stealthy was not even an improbable task, it was an impossible task.

Still, we somehow managed to evade any and all predators that lurked all around in the forest, waiting for dumb things, like those drones, to make a mistake and be devoured. Kind of, no, not kind of, but exactly, exactly like me.

Huh.

I was a predator of the forest.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.3} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.4}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

'…'

' _!'_

'Wha-! Just what!'

My thoughts stumbled as they raced a mile a minute, making me almost hit face first into a tree. Not my most graceful moment, I kno-

-not important.

What was important was that we had reached our destination safe and sound, well, sound was questionable but it would have to do. And as far as **{Animagus}** Skill was concerned, it would have to be dealt with later.

Anyway, knowing that stealth was not on our side, I did my best to hide the dumb things that were these drones. _'Remain hidden. And use your Doxy shield to kill the prey when I say so.'_ That was my standing order to all those brain dead things that were more burden, at this point, than they were worth.

Although, all my efforts were for naught as, out of nowhere, a horrifying screech resonated through the clearing. " **SCREEEE** EEEeee… .. ."

Well, horrifying for the creature, not me. To me it was nothing more than a grating and irritating noise. Still, the point was that one of my drones was attacked and, by the silence that followed the initial scream, most likely dead.

Which was not ok; it was just **not ok**.

A moment passed before another screech followed the first. " **SCREEEEEE** EEEEEeee… .. ."

And it was _annoying._ It wasn't unpleasant or sad or any of those things, it was just irrationally annoying; like a start of an itch that just wouldn't go.

It was an annoyance that existed because the creature, which was now dead, had been useless while it had been alive and had died while also being useless. It was annoyance at the fact that the now dead creature had died. _And_ it was annoyance at the fact that the now dead creature had been even alive to begin with.

But the fact that _**something that belonged**_ to me, _**something that was mine**_ , was _**taken away from me**_ , in front of my very eyes, **was simply** _**enraging**_. It was an all encompassing rage that transcended reasoning and reduced me to an angry mess of flesh, bones and magic.

Ting.

 **[Title, {Trickster}, activated. You seek to trick and harm others.]**

In the midst of haze of red rage, of vengeance, of malice and of violence, giddiness blossomed; it flowered like a lotus blooming in filth. It was disgusting yet beautiful; oh so beautiful, yet so ghastly. It was giddiness at the thought of cruelty and malice. It was sadism masquerading as joy.

A giggle escaped my throat; glee pumping in my veins faster than blood. And then a sc-

" **SCRRCCREEEEEEE!** "

Knowing, yet unthinkingly, a spell formed within my mind before manifesting in reality, willed by my desire, not by my consciousness.

Ting.

 **[-30 MP]**

Fire blossomed above my tiny palm, beautiful and gleaming, and ready to _**set things ablaze**_. _'Burn! BURN!_ _ **BURN**_ _!'_

' _Burn the_ _ **thief**_ _!'_

' _Thief! Yes thief! It defies us what is ours! It DEFIES! Yes it_ _ **DOES**_ _!'_

' _ **BURN!'**_

Intricate laces of fire emerged from the fireball, racing outwards like hungry piranhas, latching onto anything and everything that they touched, imparting their beauty and their fire to the world that was dark and ugly.

Nothing withstood the beauty of fire as it raced, fueled by my desire, my need and my abhorrence. It burned and cooked everything without mercy, without any discrimination, without any reason other than to just _burn._

Thunk.

Ting.

 **[-50 HP]**

I staggered at the impact; something had hit me in the thigh, embedding itself into my body. I laughed.

' _It challenges us! It dares to attack us! US! It dares to CHALLENGE! IT_ _ **DARES!'**_

Staggering still from the impact, the next projectile missed its target, which just so happened to be me.

" **SCRRCCREEEEEEE!** " Something roared, most likely me, I couldn't tell.

Turning around my uncontrolled flight, my eyes landed on the thief that had dared to take away from us what was ours. And at the very moment, the laces of fire multiplied themselves, like an ant-hill crumbling, numerous and threatening, they converged, beautiful and feral.

' _The creature dodges. It dodges! It dares to Dodge! It dares to LIVE after taking away from us what was ours!_ _ **IT WILL**_ _ **NOT**_ _ **LIVE!'**_

" **SCRRCCREEEEEEE!** " Something thundered again and I realized that I was the source of the sound.

The _thing_ flinched. ' _Yes flinch! Fear! Be Afraid!_ _ **FLINCH**_ _!'_ It flinched away from me, from my fury and from my fire.

And that was pleasing; so very pleasing. The fear that this _thing_ had come know was _positively delicious._ And I giggled. I giggled with pure, unadulterated happiness. It wasn't glee. It wasn't unholy. It was happiness in its purest form.

Ting.

 **[-50 MP]**

A doxy shied materialized right above the _thing_ and came down on it, but instead of closing on the creature's neck and shattering, the blades of the shield trapped the exoskeleton of the _thing_ and held onto it as they dug into the bark of the tree, effectively ensnaring it.

Joy, the likes of one I hadn't known since my rebirth, erupted in me like a volcano, bursting all at once, overwhelming and all encompassing. _'Yes, oh yes. It is trapped! The thief is trapped! And it will die! Die it will! Yes oh yes! Die it_ _ **will!**_ _!'_

I flew towards the trapped _thing_ and saw it thrashing against the bonds of the shield entrappi-

Thunk. Thunk.

Ting.

 **[-50 HP]**

Ting.

 **[-50 HP]**

My joy receded; my giddiness dissipated and anger returned with vengeance as my eyes saw the two more of those projectiles embedded in me. I scre-

" **SCRRCCREEEEEEE!** "

The _thing_ flinched again and this time I darted forward and slammed the orb of fire, floating above my hand, directly into the _thing's_ face.

It screeched; for I had gifted it a pain that it had never experienced before. And it thrashed, struggling for freedom that it no longer had. The melody of its screams and its continued struggles combined to form a lovely sound; a sound which soothed my anger like a mother soothing a livid child.

And I laughed.

The lashes of fire converged and wrapped themselves all along the _thing's_ body, draping it like a fiery present; beautiful and lethal. My senses, mad from the haze, lost themselves in the beauty of the fire, of death and of vengeance, in a delight so new tha-

The carapace of the _thing_ changed its color then, shifting from a shiny black to stony grey as the _thing_ continued to shriek and fight back against my restraint. The color change started slow and then sped up, like rain falling.

And then the doxy shield entrapping the _thing_ quivered, almost breaking in the process, resulting in it loosening from where it had embedded itself into the tree.

' _Oh YoU doN't!'_

Ting.

 **[-50 MP]**

Another blue shield materialized above the _thing_ and dug itself into the tree, enforcing the trap. All the while, the _thing_ continued to thrash about but whatever power it had gained from changing the color of its carapace, it wasn't enough to dislodge two of my shields.

I giggled and secreted a mixture of all three poisons on the back of my hand, aiming for all the incredible suffering that I could create, and placed it on the burning hot carapace of the _thing._

Ting.

 **[-20 HP]**

It sizzled as the poison heated and evaporated, burning me through fire, heat and superheated-vapor while at the same time, inflicting the effects of poison on my prey.

Oh yes, the sweet sound. If the _thing_ was shrieking earlier, it now roared in pain; it's sound growing even more gratifying with the increase in pain.

Ah serenity.

I lifted my now burned hand and again secreted the cocktail of toxins. Though this time, my hand went down the throat of the _thing,_ blocking its screams and imparting my toxins directly into the body of the thing.

A silent scream emanated from the _thing_ , and then, then nothing.

It was dead.

It died.

' _It's dead! The one who had dared to take away from us, what was ours, is dead! Dead through fire! Dead through pain! Dead through poison! And dead through our hands! Dead not only through by magic, but also through_ _ **our very own hands**_ _! It's DEAD!_ _ **DEAD AFTER ALL!'**_

I laughed as the giddiness, the joy and the exhilaration, returned to me in a cocktail of emotions that I had never experienced before.

I laughed like a man free of his burdens. No. Not like a man but like a creature. I laughed like a Creature MAD.

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Ting.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

' _...Huh?'_

Everything began to shift at that moment, as the clinking sound of the numerous notifications broke through whatever trance that I had entered in; the little sounds of tinkering bells falling like a blacksmith's hammer on my spellbound mind.

My gaze hesitantly travelled down the length of my burned arm, the very same that was still buried deep within the guts of the formerly alive Soldier Ant.

The loud crinkling of burning leaves, the cracking of smoldering wood and the overwhelming scent of ash captivated my attention then, causing my gaze to look away from the grotesque sight before me to the daunting spectacle that awaited me.

Light. Bright. Too bright. Everywhere. All around.

Surrounded.

That was all that my gaze registered as it traversed through the inferno entrapping me. Everything was on fire. Nothing escaped the flaming inferno. Not the trees. Not the leaves. Not even the 2 carcasses of the dead Drones.

'… _Huh.'_

For some reason, the destruction was not something that filled me with regret. Or grief over losing two of the useless drones.

I quickly retreated within my mind and found the two of the surviving Drone Doxies. One of the two was relatively unharmed just a bit of fire damage but the other one was badly scorched and barely alive. I scowled. _'Useless little things. Follow me!'_

I flew through the mess of the burning leaves and cracking wood, I made my way through the tongues of flame as they roared and tried to reach for the sky, I braved the falling ashes of the burned out timber and I came out of that pyre alive.

It was an experience that I did not want to repeat any time soon, or ever.

I hurried back to my crevice, my hideout and my home, not bothering with the two useless bodies that were trying to follow me; if they made it out alive, good else, even better; at least then I wouldn't have to be saddled with deadweight anymore.

Two thuds resounded in my rocky home soon after I landed; it would appear that the drones had indeed made it out of the inferno and had been able to follow me back here. Quite a feat it was in itself as I had been travelling just for myself and did not have these two in my mind.

A bit curious about the ones that had made it out alive, I used **{Observe}** on the creatures.

My first target, the one that was the least singed.

Ting.

 **[-1 MP]**

Ting.

 **[Doxy Drone. Venom.]**

 **[Lv.1]**

 **[HP: 3/5]**

 **[MP: 20/20]**

 **[Name: Unnamed Creator. This creature can't be named.]**

I scowled. It would seem that I can't even name these Drones because I don't have a name myself. Just who came up with these stupid rules? And how was the first named creature even named? Just how was any of this possible?

Anyway, it didn't matter. It was not like I was in any hurry to name these deadweights.

I then moved on to my second and last target, the one that was scorched from head to toe. It was so badly burnt that couldn't comprehend how it was even alive at this point.

Ting.

 **[-1 MP]**

 **[Doxy Drone. Venom.]**

 **[Lv.1]**

 **[HP: 1/5]**

 **[MP: 20/20]**

 **[Name: Unnamed Creator. This creature can't be named.]**

This one quivered from the burn damage that it had taken; its nerves no longer existed to inform of it of the pain that it was in, yet the memory lingered and the muscles felt. It felt the pain that was there but its body failed to tell it about.

I studied the dying creature before me, and saw when its movement finally stopped. It was dead.

I could have healed it, I could have saved its existence, I could have done so much more than just sit there to watch and wait. But I didn't.

It wasn't worth it. Its existence wasn't worth the effort to expend my MP that I would use to heal myself. So I waited and it died. Just like that. There was no other reason. I did not know when I became so cold, or how I became so cold or why I became so cold.

I just knew I was coldness that this Doxy bodice thrived in. Maybe that was why I was given this option. Maybe this was what I was; a cold predator.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.4} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.5}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

I frowned. Not this again. How did this even made sense? _'I wasn't searching for my animagus self. Not by long shot! I was introspecting, not medi-'_

Oh. _'Ok. That makes sense.'_

It was the result that mattered and not the method, it seemed. I had been meditating just to get to know my body more and myself better. It wasn't the process itself that was helping with the **{Animagus}** Skill, it was the result.

And if I could achieve the same result through any different means, it didn't matter. The process didn't matter.

I smiled. _'Now that makes things easier. Or not.'_ My smile fell.

How would this help me with my goal? Would I have to sit and introspect if I wanted to level up **{Animagus}**? But wasn't that what I always did when I meditated?

Gah! My head was beginning to hurt from all this nonsense!

I shook my head to clear it of all the confusing thoughts. I would have to visit this topic later. Maybe. Or not. At this moment, I had that useless drone to feed.

My eyes fell on the cooling corpse of the Drone. It was scorched, or rather cooked. It would be edible enough, wouldn't it?

I pushed myself up and dragged the body near the eternal ball of fire residing just below the entrance of my little crevice. Just a bit more and it would be cooked enough for the only surviving drone.

As the meat cooked, I checked myself. There were obvious injuries from the mandible attacks from the Soldier Ant; they, just like a Worker Ant, had the ability to shoot their mandibles with precision.

Grimacing, I pulled the mandibles out and healed myself. _'Episkey.'_

Ting.

 **[-20 MP]**

As the magic took hold, I guided the healing warmth to the open wounds rather than let it run amok through the rest of my body. The former would have rejuvenated my entire body a bit but that wasn't what I needed when there were bleeding gashes on my body.

I casted the magic again, emptying my MP, and healed the rest of the wounds. I checked my HP, it read, **[HP: 230/290]** while my MP read, **[MP: 0/190]**.

I smiled, those numbers had been unimaginable at one point, but now, now they were my reality. They were my achievement. They were my life, quite literally. And they would just continue on increasing. I grinned; this was what accomplishment was.

I turned back to the now steaming corpse and shoved it towards the single surviving drone. I retreated within my mind and send back just one message to the mindless peace of flesh, _'Eat.'_

The creature didn't hesitate, it dug in. I hadn't expected anything else; for I knew that the Drone had no consciousness of its own, no sense of self.

But in truth, I suspected that even if it had the ability to think and reason, it wouldn't have hesitated to consume the flesh of its kin; for it was the way of the creatures at the bottom of the food chain, where their every breath could be their last. For them, or rather for us, every edible thing was food, and every moment was opportunity.

Returning from those morbid thoughts, I decided that this much excitement was enough for one day. And even though just 4 hours had passed since the beginning of the day –most of which had passed when the drones had been trying to fly- I decided to sleep and rest. I had a lot of MP and HP to recover and the upcoming 18 hours would help a lot with that.

With that thought in mind, I returned to my mind to impart my last order of the day to the Drone, _'Eat and then rest.'_ Though, as I finished my command, I felt a very subtle, as if barely there, response from the mind of the Drone.

I frowned; the Drone was not capable of individual thought, which was why it was a Drone. Tentatively, I moved closer to the only archway left in my mind-space, the same one that represented my connection to my drones, and observed the mind-space of the Drone.

Where earlier, there had been nothing but void and emptiness lurking behind that lump of stone, now was a very subtle hint of fog, as if heralding winter itself. _'So the personality of the drone was beginning to manifest, huh.'_ I surmised, for that was the only conclusion.

It was more than likely that my actions had cemented the base of the personality, or maybe it was the today's fight itself, I didn't know, but one of those things had affected the drone enough that had begun forming its personality.

I smiled. It was good development as far I was concerned. Mindless bodies were just burden to me anyway.

As I lay down to sleep, I decided against using **{Survive}** today; I already had no MP to back me up at the moment and didn't want to lose the support my HP too. With that last thought, I checked my status one last time and fell asleep.

 **[Name: Unnamed]**

 **[Species: Doxy]**

 **[Race(s): Insect]**

 **[Level: 20]**

 **[HP: 230/290]**

 **[MP: 0/190]**

 **[Titles: {Sentient}, {Reincarnated}, {Survivor}, {Master of Death}, {Masochist}, {Gourmand}, {Fire Elemental}, {Trickster}, {Healer}]**

 **[Skills: {Animagus Lv.5}, {Ant's Will Lv.4}, {Apparate Lv.6}, {Beast Tamer Lv.1}, {Concentrate Lv.1}, {Crawl Lv. Max}, {Dig Lv.9}, {Doxy Shield Lv.3}, {Drone Eggs Lv.2}, {Fire Manipulation Lv.1}, {Fire Resistance Lv.1}, {Fly Lv.7}, {Invisibility Lv.1}, {Ice Resistance Lv.1}, {Leglimens Lv.2}, {Mana Control Lv.3}, {Masochism Lv.3}, {Meditate Intermediate Lv.1}, {Molting Lv.5}, {Night Vision Lv.5}, {Observe Lv.8}, {Occlumency Lv.9}, {Overdose Lv.1}, {Pain Resistance Lv.5}, {Poison Resistance Lv.9}, {Poison Creation Lv.5}, {Rise Lv.1}, {Scent Lv.4}, {Sensor Lv.7}, {Slide Lv.3}, {Stealth Lv.4}, {Stubborn Lv.4}, {Survive Lv.4}, {Trap Lv.3}]**

 **[Spells: {Lumos Lv. Max}, {Incendio Lv. Max}, {Episkey Lv. Max}, {Expelliarmus Lv.10}, {Expecto Patronum Lv.10}, {Protego Lv.10}, {Reparo Lv.9}, {Aguamenti Lv.9}, {Stupefy Lv.9}, {Immobulus Lv.9}, {Lumos Maximus Lv.8}, {Confundo Lv.8}, {Fianto Duri Lv.8},{Protego Maxima Lv.8}, {Repello Inimicum Lv.8}, {Accio Lv.7}, {Bombarda Lv.7}, {Petrificus Totalus Lv.6}, {Diffindo Lv.6}, {Reducto Lv.5}, {Wingardium Leviosa Lv.5}, {Transfugiration Lv.5}, {Silencio Lv.4}, {Glacius Lv.4}, {Confringo Lv.3}, {Alohomora Lv.3}, {Sectum Sempra Lv.2}, {Imperio Lv.2}, {Muffliato Lv.2}, {Crucio Lv.1}, {Mother's Mercy Lv.1}]**

* * *

# This is an uninformed opinion of the MC about something that he doesn't want to know anything about. Wrong or right, it doesn't matter here.


	19. Arc 2 - Defiance - Chapter 19

**Night 42**

* * *

The first thing that greeted me, when I woke up, was the layers upon layers of blue screens that informed me of various things. Though, the one that was repeated the most was the one that informed me of a new level up.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

Apparently, that fire had killed more than just its target as it seemed many other unintended creatures had come under the fire of the raging inferno.

I dismissed the notification and kept on dismissing the repetitive information until I came upon a screen that gave me some new information.

 **[You have reached Level 100. Your current form cannot evolve further. Your current form cannot Level Up further. Extra experience lost.]**

Though, it was not something that I was pleased to know. Even if reaching Level 100 was technically a desirable thing, the more important thing here was that I could no longer either evolve or Level up; effectively leaving me stuck as a Doxy for the rest of my existence.

No, not desirable at all.

With a scowl etched onto my insect-oid face, I dismissed this notification too and blinked in surprise at the blood red screen that popped up; that screen, with its mere presence, stirred uneasiness within my heart, as it started racing, making me uncomfortable and giving this unusual screen an ominous presence.

 **TRAAANG!**

 **[Title gained: {Cursed}]**

 **[Your destructive actions have angered your Parent, as a result, Mother's Wrath has been incurred and you have been Cursed. During the time of most need, your healing spells and skills will fail. Cease and Desist from further such action, lest you be annihilated.]**

Okay.

Not good.

Not good at all.

This was incredibly ba-

That ominous feeling that had crept up on me, with the appearance of this damned crimson screen, flooded me, as chills ran down my spine as if someone, or something, was staring down on me, its presence so vast that it drowned me in its power.

My breath hitched as my lungs demanded air that was present all around me, yet refused to enter my body. My bones strained as the weight of the world came crashing down on me. My blood vessels seemed to start rupturing as the pressure kept on multiplying.

My insides tried to escape my body from any and all opening that they could find. My mind drew blank as it tried to fight off this foreign power but no matter how hard it tried, all it came up with was emptiness.

Darkness rushed in as it surrounded me, basking me in its icy touch. The chill seeped into my skin, froze my flesh and burned my bones.

Pain.

Pain was all I felt. Pain was all I knew.

Pain unlike anything I had ever experienced, engulfed me, overloading my brain.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

And then it was gone.

And so was the crimson screen. I did not dismiss it; I couldn't have dismissed it, not in the state I was in.

I gasped, trying to take in the precious air and fill my collapsing lungs. The shock of the experience kept me vigilant when all my body wanted to do was to collapse and let the night take me in.

With more effort than it should have taken, I crawled towards the exit of my little home and then fell down like a ripe fruit falling from a tree.

Ting.

 **[-40 HP]**

That hurt. Yet, it was nothing in comparison to what I had just gone through.

The moonlight sank into my skin, spreading like water on parched earth. It flowed into my blood, soothing, calming and invigorating the veins that had been abused by whatever it was that had just exerted its will over me.

The feeling of the moonlight on my skin was well worth the pain and loss of HP.

I sighed as a thought came into being. _'Why did I just seek moonlight?'_ Why had I sustained further injuries to myself just to do something that I hadn't known would help me?

I did not know why I had sought out moonlight in this condition or how I knew that moonlight would sooth the enormous impossibility that I had just experienced. I did not know what had made me do such a thing.

But as this very moment, it mattered not why I did what I did. What mattered was that the gentle white light of the moon encapsulated me within its calmness, soothing away the shock and the phantom pains.

I took a deep shuddering breath in as I tried to register what had just happened. And beyond that, I tried to comprehend weather if what had just happened had actually happened? I tried to understand if all of it was just a figment of my imagination or not.

The blue screens cleared that possibility away.

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv. 5} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv. 6}. Your pain tolerance has increased.]**

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv. 6} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv. 7}. Your pain tolerance has increased.]**

 **[Skill {Pain Resistance Lv. 7} has leveled up to {Pain Resistance Lv. 8}. Your pain tolerance has increased.]**

I could not have, in any possible way, imagined that.

As my breath settled down and the air filled my lungs, some semblance of sanity started returning to me. And that brought some questions. What had caused that? Who had caused that? Was it 'The Mother'? Who was this Mother?

And what was that about my Parent?

I had no parents. I was born out of an egg, one amongst the many, all abandoned just the same. Then just who was this 'Mother'? And did the System insinuate that this 'Mother' was my 'Parent'? What did that mean?

Was I a spawn of some kind of insect? Well…yes I was but not just some random insect but some insect-oid monster? A monster that was apparently pissed at me for causing an uncontrolled fire that burned down other insects?

What a farce.

But then, how could this monster curse me? And not just any simple curse, but one that was strong enough to show up in my status screen.

With a scowl, I called my status and focused on the description of the Title [Cursed]. I flinched as another crimson screen came into existence.

 **[Your destructive actions have angered your Parent, as a result, Mother's Wrath has been incurred and you have been Cursed. During the time of most need, your healing spells and skills will fail. Cease and Desist from further such action, lest you be annihilated.]**

' _What sort of curse is this!? Does this monster want me dead!?'_ This was no simple curse. For my healing spells and skills to fail when I need them the most was all sorts of 'Fuck you' to me by my supposed 'Parent'.

I scoffed. Some parent indeed.

As I continued to bask in the moonlight, my heart calmed down and my insides stopped sending tendrils of phantom pains. And that brought the previous line of thought to the forefront.

Why had I come out crawling to the moonlight? Why was it soothing me? How had I known to seek moonlight?

I had so many questions, but as always, I had no answers.

The most that I could guess was that it might have been my instincts that drew me to the moonlight. But then again, Doxies didn't have such relationship with the Moon, from what I knew. They were creatures that sought darkness, true, but they were also creatures that shunned any form of light, including moonlight. I knew that from experience with them from my previous life.

So if it were not the instincts of Doxy that led me to seek moonlight, then what was it? I knew it couldn't be me. I had no such love for the dark, the night and the moon in my last life. Then what could it be? What was it that had influenced me enough to change my actions on the instinctual level?

What was it? What could it be?

A bit frustrated at the lack of answers, for all the questions that just kept piling up more and more, I called out my Status to try and extract some answers through that useless thing. The numbers offered no insight; I hadn't expected them to either.

I sighed and moved onto my skill list. The skill [Animagus] caught my eye. '… _Could it be?'_

Ideas after ideas started racing through my mind. The possibilities and their chances of being true crossed my mind as I came to the conclusion. _'Yes. It could. It definitely could. After all, wasn't this the aim of the skill?'_

Ting.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.5} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.6}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

A smiled bloomed on my face at the notification. _'So I am correct after all. The instinct to seek out moonlight comes from my Animagus transformation.'_

Indeed it made sense. My animagus form was the only being that could affect my instincts and as it had remained elusive as of yet; this feeling of comfort from moonlight could only be its effect.

"SCREee-"

I sighed. That drone was awake it seemed. And hungry. The thing was always hungry. Though, I did not want to feed it today, especially after yesterday's misadventure. But I could not leave it hungry; I knew what it felt like and it had never been a pleasant feeling.

It didn't mean I couldn't be pissed at it though. _'If it's this hungry, it should go hunt and feed itself!'_

The thought, no matter how tempting, was but a passing contemplation. The thing was useless, as yesterday had proven. And although it was a chore to keep it alive, that thing was my only company at the moment.

And wasn't that sad. A mindless drone, no better than a breathing doll, was a company that I was willing to keep alive even if it was chore. That was sad, so very sad. It was a testament to how lonely I was.

' _I wonder…would my Animagus form represent this loneliness that I feel?'_

Ting.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.6} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.7}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

A dry laugh left my lips. _'It would, wouldn't it? Just my fucking luck.'_

"SCREEee-"

' _Yes, yes, I am coming, you mindless bottomless pit.'_

Leaving the comfort of the gentle moonlight, I went back into the crevice. The thing was chewing on the bones of its kind that it had feasted upon last night.

I frowned as an idea popped up in my head. _'…there's no harm in trying.'_

Hating what I was going to do, but knowing that it was the easiest way to achieve my goal, I grimaced in disgust and activated the skill **[Drone Eggs].**

Ting.

 **[-100 MP]**

As the skill activated, I felt the familiar urge to throw up. I didn't fight it this time, knowing what was to come; I let the nausea overwhelm me. With a blegh and disgusting wet plop, the egg deposited itself in front of me and soon 2 more followed.

I dry heaved as the last egg fell out of my mouth before finally settling down. That was disgusting. And disturbing.

Knowing that the idiot drone would make a mess of everything, I flew out and brought a few leaves to cover the floor of the crevice before placing the eggs on them.

' _Eat.'_ I retreated into my mind and send the command to the drone that was still chewing on the bones of its deceased kin.

The drone did not need to be told twice and started gobbling down the eggs with a ferociousness rivaling that of a hungry dog. It did not show even a single hesitance at eating an egg similar to which it had came out.

Ting.

'…Huh?' I frowned in confusion, _'Was that a sound of notification?'_ But if it was, then why was it so faint, as if distant and coming from across closed doors.

Still frowning, I waited for the notification to appear but it failed to do so. As I waited for the notification that refused to appear, the drone continued on chomping on the eggs, gulping down one after another and soon it had finished all three.

Ting.

There was definitely a sound of notification. After having heard it innumerous times since my rebirth, I could not mistake it for another even if I wanted to. Though, just like last time, it was muted and dim.

I frowned. _'Just why are these notifications not appearing?'_

This made no sense. Why notify with the sound when the actual screen was not going to appear? It was not like it was of any use to me without the actual notification.

Still, one thing that did not make sense was why was the sound of notification different? Why did it sound like it was coming from some distant place after crossing through a door of some kind?

Huh?

…could it be?

I retreated into my mind, appearing in wide green lawns, haunted by the looming castle and the dark forest in the background.

And in the middle of those sprawling fields of green grass, stood an archway, the same one that was my mental connection to the ever useless drone. Crossing through the archway, I was greeted by the floating blue screens of the missing notifications, confirming my suspicion. Those muted notification were not for me, but were for the drone.

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

 **[You have Leveled Up! Level up bonus of +2 HP and +2 MP granted.]**

I smiled. 'So _the drone can level up after eating the Drone Eggs?'_ That was useful bit of information.

Though why did it level up after eating eggs and not when I was feeding it meat? Was it because it was now eating things that were technically alive and not just dead meat? _'Hmm. A possibility that I would never know for sure.'_

Still, this was a good development, now I could feed myself without worrying about this bottomless pit. Not that I planned on hunting today. After last night's episode, I planned on laying low for a while. Hmm, maybe I could feed myself through these eggs too.

…

..

Eww!

Ugghh. Bleggh!

' _No. Just no. I do not want to eat my own vomit. Ew. Just Uggh.'_

Retreating from the drone's mind and coming back to my own bodice, I shuddered in disgust. That had not been a pleasant thought.

The rest of the day went by rather peacefully. I didn't go outside to hunt, instead I spend the rest of the day meditating and studying the mana circulating in my body, trying to understand it more and find another clue to my **[Animagus]** transformation.

When the night finally came to an end, I marked the end of my waking hours with the usual application of the skill, **[Survive]** and fell asleep.

Ting.

 **[-225 HP]**

* * *

 **Night 43**

* * *

As the night came and my day began, I felt the plans for another peaceful night crumble to dust as the hunger that I hadn't felt in a long time, made itself known.

I frowned and checked my food storage skill, **[Overdose]** , only to see the absence of any and all value besides it. I scowled. _'Did I eat up all the storage to feed those meat shields?'_

' _Fuck it all!'_ Apparently I did.

A sigh escaped me as the scowl melted away. Accepting the situation was only way forward, no matter how much I didn't like the situati-

Ting.

 **[Skill {Fire Resistance Lv.2} has leveled up to become {Fire Resistance Lv.3}. Fire Damage has been reduced by 2 to -9 HP per turn.]**

' _Finally!'_ A smile blossomed on my face. Finally this stupid skill leveled up! _'Ah, my suffering has not been for naught after all.'_

The truth was that this had been turning ridiculous. The amount of time this skill had taken to level up was nothing compared to any the other skills I had. Adding to that was the fact that I had to suffer through the heat of that obscene fire ball –the one that was still _going on,_ by the way- to level up this moronic skill.

The smile did not last long though. The pangs of burn that was hunger roared its ugly head and demanded my attention. Unfortunately, it would not -and could not- be soothed by the balm of the skill **[Overdose].**

Not wanting to feel the inferno that this burn had the potential to turn into, I decided to go hunting, but not before creating another triplet of eggs for the drone to eat. I did not want it to starve, not after being familiar with it intimately.

Ting.

 **[-100 MP]**

As I finished creating the first batch of three eggs, the skill leveled up.

Ting.

 **[Skill {Drone Eggs Lv.2} has leveled up to {Drone Eggs Lv.3}. You can now create +3 eggs resulting in 6 eggs per use.]**

Dismissing the notification, I used the skill again -to create 6 eggs now- for the Drone to feed on while I was away before finally leaving the crevice.

Ting.

 **[-100 MP]**

I flew around wanting something to eat but not knowing what to. I could not obviously hunt those ants again. And by the same reason I could not hunt the spiders that I had been eating before those ants. Or the frogs.

I sighed as I continued to fly around before finally landing on a flower.

…

..Huh?

' _What in the world?'_

Why did I land? I was out to hunt, not to enjoy the fucking scenery! The raging fire in my stomach was not going to subside because I loitered around while **not hunting!**

 **Stupid instincts!**

…

…Hmm? Instincts?

I looked around, trying to understand where I was, until my eyes fell on the flower that I had landed. The Moon glow.

Oh right _. 'I had always landed on this thing whenever I was in this clearing, hadn't I?'I_

Though, was this the same flower that used to be my resting place while I tried to level up my **[Observe]** skill?

It seemed like it. It was right in the middle of the clearing, right where the flower used to be. What a weird flower. It hadn't wilted in all the time I had been alive; maybe even more. After all, who knew when this thing had initially bloomed?

Guess being a magical flower had its perk. _'Doesn't this flower attract creatures affected by the moon?'_

As far as I remembered, it did. I used the skill, **[Observe]**.

Ting.

 **[A spirit flower that attracts all the creatures affected by moon. It sooths the loneliness of the Moon Children.]**

' _Huh. Leveling up_ _ **[Observe]**_ _gives more information even on inanimate objects. Alright.'_ Still what was this Moon Child? And why was it lone-

Oh.

Wasn't I lonely?

Hadn't I always landed on this flower even when there were ample places for me to do so?

Hadn't I landed on this flower just now without even realizing it?

I was a Moon Child, wasn't I?

Ting.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.7} has leveled up to {Animagus Lv.8}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been partially successful.]**

Well, that confirmed that incredibly depressing fact. The **[Observe]** had even said so, hadn't it? _'Moon glow sooths the loneliness of the Moon Children. Huh. Was I destined to be lonely forever?'_

A bitter laugh left my lips. Unwittingly and unwillingly I laughed. I laughed at the loneliness, I laughed at my supposed fate and I laughed at the sorrow that pierced right through the fleeting moments of joy.

I laughed at the mirthless joke. I laughed at the cruelty of this existence. And then I laughed as the genuine glee that began to fill my empty laugh.

M **y** situation **wa** s a hilarious one, w **AS** n't it? **I** , a person who hadn't ha **d** much but then had too much, had once again **be** come someone –no not so **me** one but some _ **thing-Something**_ that had noth **ing**!

' _It_ _ **'s**_ _F_ _ **unn**_ _y!_ _ **Po**_ _sitiv_ _ **e**_ _ly H_ _ **i**_ _L_ _ **aR**_ _Iou_ _ **S**_ _!'_

It was so hilarious that I fell down laughing! The loneliness was so funny that my sides started hurting from the laughter! The sorrow was so funny that I couldn't even control my laugh! The misery was so funny that my breath started to hitch! The all consuming darkness was so funny that I started to gasp for air and I still LAU **GHED!**

IT! WAS! THA **T!** FU **NNY!**

And so I laughed until I found genuine joy in this situation that was a joke! How F **UNN** Y! And as the genuine joy crept in, the laughter died out.

I found myself grasping for breath as I lied on the grass beneath the Moon Glow. I stared at the white flower with deep blue hues.

How beautiful.

I closed my eyes and let the joy born out of misery seep in me. It seemed like my only solace. A smiled morphed onto my face as I felt better than I had felt in a long time. It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt light, like I would float if I let wished it.

Though, it was a smile that was unhinged.

I stood up and flew back to the flower that had brought the devastating prediction -the flower that had turned the resulting misery into mirth.

I used **[Observe]** on the flower again and when the earlier notification popped up, I tried to use the same skill on the words 'Moon Children'.

' _Of course, of course.'_ I grinned as no explanation for the words popped up. It was another of those things that I didn't know anything; the list of which was getting depressingly –and hilariously- long.

I flew up and headed for my very first nemesis, the Snails that had tried to feast on me when I had been but a mere caterpillar. It was time to let them have some fun.

It didn't take me long to find them and, just like last timethere was no lack of snails here.

A grin appeared on my face, more than a bit malicious, at the thought of instilling in these creatures the fear that I had succumbed to in those days.

Those days that now seemed a lifetime away, yet I still remembered that fear as if yesterday. _'Oh I will make you all feel all sorts of things…'_ I laughed.

Spotting the snail nearest to me, I flew towards it and slammed into it.

Ting.

 **[-5 HP]**

I wince in joy. This is but the start.

The destabilized snail fell from the branch and fell on the ground. That got to have hurt the idiotic creature.

 **Thunk.**

Flying down I bent down to pick up the snail. It refused to budge though. _'Ant's Will.'_

Ting.

 **[-10 HP]**

With the renewed power that came from the skill -as my strength tripled for the next 3 minutes- I picked up the snail as the creature within tried to wiggle out.

It wasn't able to though.

I spun in the air with the creature in my hands, again and again, building up the momentum before finally throwing the whirling creature with all my might towards the tree that it called its home. It slammed into trunk with another loud noise.

I smiled and brought my hand up. _'Incen-'_

Dread rose in me at the thought of casting the fire spell. Dread much similar to when I had received the title **[Cursed].** The spell fell short of completion as the magic died suddenly before it could.

I scowled.

Before I started laughing.

Wasn't this just hilarious! My most powerful weapon and I couldn't even use it! Oh how fU **N!**

Laughing at the comical situation, I ran towards the snail where it had landed after bouncing off the tree trunk. My legs strained themselves, having never run before; they protested the sudden twist of plan with spasms of pain as my muscles were stretched and torn apart.

Ting.

 **[-25 HP]**

Reaching the downed snail, I grabbed its slimy flesh and _pulled._ The creature screeched in pain and struggled against my hold. It wiggled and struggled before biting me.

Ting.

 **[-5 HP]**

' _The pathetic damage!'_ I chortled in glee.

I took hold of its mouth and grabbed it shut with my hand before talking hold of its shell and slamming it into the ground, effectively blocking all the attacks this primitive thing had.

I looked into the eyes of the snail, the fear that I had always felt, was palpable into the eyes of creature that had once instilled it in me. I laughed.

Opening my mouth as wide as I could, I brought my teeth down on the soft flesh of the still living creature. Its wide eyes showcased the true fear that I had once felt.

And it felt _good. So very good._

Swallowing the flesh, I took another bite from the living creature. It shrieked but the sound failed to escape with its mouth still trapped in my hand. I continued to chomp down on the creature, devouring it alive, and one bite at a time.

And when it was dead, I continued to devour its corpse until the only proof left of its existence was its shell.

With a horrendous smile still plastered on my face, I turned towards the tree to once again hunt -no, not hunt but to kill.

* * *

By the time I was done, shells after shell adorned the ground; the remnants of my murders.

Ting.

 **[Title gained: [Sadist]]**

 **[You enjoy the pain of others. Title [Sadist] grants the skill {Sadism Lv.1}.]**

Ting.

 **[{Sadism} allows drain of HP from the victim. After the death of the victim, at Lv.1 restores the HP with 1/11** **th** **of the total HP of the victim.]**

Ting.

 **[Titles [Masochist], [Sadist] and [Trickster] detected. Conditions met. Title Merge activated.]**

Ting.

 **[Title Merge successful. Titles [Masochist], [Sadist] and [Trickster] lost.]**

Ting.

 **[As a result of Title Merge, all the effects of the previous Titles have been sustained. All skills gained from the previous Titles have been retained. The effect of the temporary Specie's Title, [Trickster], has become permanent. ]**

Ting.

 **[Title gained: [Unhinged]]**

 **[Your mind has been permanently changed beyond your control. Grants skill {Twisted}.]**

Ting.

 **[Skill {Twisted} granted by the Title [Unhinged].]**

As I read through the notifications, a variety of emotions passed through me. The last one of which was scowl that settled on my face. Though it too didn't last long and gave way to amusement.

So I was a Sadist, a Masochist and an Unhinged thing. Well, wasn't that just amusing.

' _I wonder what my past self would say of these Titles?'_ I chortled at the thought as the scenario played in my mind. _'Oh he would be genuinely outraged!'_

As my glee died down, I reviewed the skills. **{Sadism}** sounded wonderful, all things considered. _'Oh the irony is comical. The contrast of my reaction with when I had received_ _ **{Masochist}**_ _could not have been starker.'_

I moved onto the next skill and frowned. The description of the skill **{Twisted}** was rather lackluster, or better to say, nothing at all. Even using **{Observe}** on it did not give any other result. That fact alone was worth raising several eyebrows and as I had two, both compiled to my thoughts and raised themselves.

The mysterious nature of the Skill **{Twisted}** stroked my curiosity though there was not much I could do about it. And as usual, I added it to my long list of things that I needed to find more about.

Returning to the crevice, I used the skill **{Drone Eggs}** and created 6 eggs for the Drone to consume through the upcoming day. The gluttonous thing had consumed all the previous eggs and leveled up to Level 5.

Ting.

 **[-100 MP]**

Having fed the bottomless pit that was the drone, I tried to use the skill **{Molting}** but stopped to check my HP.I sighed as I saw the values. My HP read, **[HP: 177/450]** while my MP read, **[MP: 120/350].** There was no way I could use **[Molting]** today.

With a disappointed sigh, I dismissed the screen and fell asleep.


	20. Arc 3 - Salvation - Chapter 20

**A/N 1: Please review this chapter. If you haven't ever reviewed before, make this chapter your first one.**

 **A/N 2: Happy Republic Day to my fellow Indian readers!**

 **Edit:**

 **A/N 3: This story will now be Beta'ed! Yay! Thank you OMNIDEUS for the amazing work and graciousness!**

 **Night 50**

I woke up without much hassle. Now that I had a system in place for the dumb Drone to feed itself during the night, I no longer woke up to the high pitched screeches of the ever hungry thing.

The system was incredibly simple; all I had to do was to use the skill **{Drone Eggs}** to create 3 batches of eggs, twice in the night and one in the morning, right before I went to sleep. This method took care of the Drone's breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A dry chortle escaped my lips. _'Even a mere thing eats better than me.'_

How fun.

Still, this had two fold effects. The first one being that the Drone leveled up all the way to level 25, with all the eggs the thing was guzzling down and the other being that the skill itself had leveled up. It had been a satisfying to see the level up screen for the skill.

 **[Skill {Drone Eggs Lv.3} has leveled up to {Drone Eggs Lv.4}. You can now create +4 eggs resulting in 10 eggs per use.]**

With the increase in the level of the skill, I had hoped to use the skill less as my egg output increased. My hope had been brutally squashed though, as the Drone increased its eating capacity with the increase in quantity of food. I was not even sure how that moronic thing did that considering that it was a drone and lacked any kind of awareness until expressively guided.

Though, **{Drone Eggs}** had not been the only skill that had leveled up over the course of last seven nights. The skill **{Animagus}** had leveled up to level 10 as a result of my exploration of the mana system that now resided within me.

That act had also leveled up the skill, **{Mana Control}** up to level 8, thus greeting me with this beautiful screen.

 **[Spell {Mana Control Lv.7} has leveled up to {Mana Control Lv.8}. Cost of Elemental Manipulations has decreased by 8. Current Cost: 7 MP/s.]**

Besides these two, the other skills to have leveled up consisted of **{Fire Resistance}** which had leveled up to level 4 -thus decreasing the fire damage further by 2 to -7, **{Meditate Intermediate},** which had Leveled up to Level 4, **{Night Vision},** whichhad leveled up to Level 6 and **{Scent}** that had leveled up to level 6.

Though, the most important of all the skill to have leveled up was the level up of the skill **{Survive}.**

 **[Skill {Survive Lv.4} has leveled up to {Survive Lv.5}. The minimum Time Limit and HP Limit have both increased by 1. Current Time Limit: 5 minute. Current HP Limit: 5 HP]**

It would save my life one day. That thought caused a malicious laughter to bubble in me and escape like a dam bursting. _'Was I a life worth saving? Or, was I even a life anymore?'_

Wasn't that just **hilarious**? It was. So I _**laughed**_.

I didn't even know whether I was a life or not. And wasn't that just **aMUsiNg**!?

How midlife crisis-esque.

…Or maybe, afterlife crisis-esque? I laughed at that out of genuine mirth.

A munching noise caught my attention and I turned to find the drone munching on the last egg from last night's batch. My standing orders to eat whenever hungry allowed it to function somewhat independently. Or not.

Not wanting to delay tonight's plans any longer, I used the skill **{Drone Eggs}** to create the first set of 10 eggs, the drone's breakfast.

 **Ting.**

 **[-100 MP]**

When the last of the batch had been vomited out, I retreated within my mind to impart the daily orders to the drone, as it was still not possible for me to order the drone without retreating within my mind.

My mind, the place that was once my sanctuary, had changed. The looming castle that had been there still lurked in the background. The dark forest that had haunted the lush green grounds was still there as well. And so was the giant hut, a home for a very big man or a very small giant.

It was not those things that had changed though. It was what lied beneath all those things. It was what lied beneath the surface. The thin lines of cracks that were fine and many, hid beneath the lush grass, inside the dark shades and below the looming shadows. They were what had changed.

Like fine threads of spider web they ran. They ran and crossed and crisscrossed each other, forming a sinister maze. As horrible they were to look at, their symbolism was horrible still. Horrible and funny.

Just how hilarious was it that my mind was telling me the very thing that my Status had told me a week ago? It was something that everything, which could communicate with me in any way, was telling me.

A very simple statement that was now the truth of my existence.

The simple fact that I was going insane.

I _knew_ it though.

And I cared _not_.

I wasn't even sure if I was even a life, why would I care about the sanity of a _**thing**_!? The callous laughter at that line of thought was genuine enough to even fool me.

Having already fed the Drone its breakfast, I created another batch of eggs for the Drone to eat while I was busy doing my thing for the rest of the day.

 **Ting.**

 **[-100 MP]**

With the drone taken care of, I once again closed my eyes, though this time, I did not retreat into my mind and instead, I sank into the magic system that existed within me.

My heart raced as I tried and failed to contain my laughter. I was going down a path that had once scared me away from it!

I still remembered the fear that had shaken me to my core when I had discovered the physical manifestation of my soul within this bodice of mine. The very thing that I had tried so hard to protect in my last life was not served on a silver platter, up for grabs.

I had hated it then and I hated it now.

But I did not fear it anymore, for fear was amusing and fear was hilarious. I did not fear anything anymore, I was instead, amused. After all, I was a thing that was not even a life, what was there for me to fear?

I swam deeper and deeper within the ethereal blue river of magic that resided within my veins. I swam against the current and felt it as it moved. I felt every breath of magic as it flowed and every speck of magic as it shifted, for that was what it was, it was a river that flowed and the sand that shifted.

The deeper that I dived, the numerous the specks became and the stronger the current grew.

And soon -but not soon enough- I found myself in the ever expansive world that was not a facade.

I was here. I had reached my soul.

The ethereal glow of the endless space invited me in and I complied. I dived even further, for I had just reached my soul and not my destination; my destination was the very depth of my essence. My destination was the place where my soul was rendered into the naked truth of itself; for that was where I would find my true self, where I would find my animagus form.

As I continued to dive deeper, searching through the ever expansiveness of the endlessness, the fog began to become thinner and the glow started to recede. And finally, there was none.

Before my consciousness was a scene so familiar that it had etched itself into my mind, a scenery that I had such strong emotions for that not only had my mind shaped itself on it, but so had my soul. In front of me were the laws of lush grass, a looming castle and a gloomy forest haunting the place in the background.

Though, there was one key difference between the scenery in front of my eyes and one that had taken shape in my mind. And that difference was that nothing hid behind the shadows here. Nothing was broken. There were no cracks. This place was still whole.

And that overwhelmed me. It hit me like a bludgeon would, hard, fast and unexpectedly. And it made me fall.

How far had I fallen? How much more would I fall?

I had once been human and then an insect and now I was a pest!

But above all of that, I was alone.

In this horrible world, where my life was in constant danger, I was all alone against the world. In a world where everything tried to kill me and tried to devour my still warm corpse, I had no one to watch my back.

I was lonely and this was my fate. Hadn't that flower even told me so? A moon child I was. A creature that sought solace in a fucking flower!

Wasn't that just fucking h **iL** A **rI** _O_ _ **U**_ **S**!?

It was! Yes it was! So I _lau_ _ **ghed**_!

And that was not all! As if it ever would! Not only was I all alone in this world, I was not even sure that I was even a life! Was a pest a life? I did not know! But wasn't a pest just a pest? It was, wasn't it!

And that was what I was! I was a pest! Just trying to survive! One day at a time! Like a fucking nuisance! Always avoiding my death! Always destroying what I touched! I had no aim but to survive!

For what!

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I tried to survive for the sake of surviving, like an annoyance, like a fucking insect! There was no meaning to my existence, if there ever was! The day by day survival, the need to exist just one more day was what defined me! Not my aim, not my life, but my need for just another day!

Was that even existing?! Could I even claim that? I did not know. I knew I could not claim to be living. But would I now have to even give up on existing?!

Was tha-

"Cuuccoo… CUUccoo… CUUCCooo… CUUC **COOO…. CCUUCCCOOO!"**

A haunting sound interrupted my thoughts. A sound as beautiful as it was painful. It pierced right through my mind and through my heart. It wasn't a song of happiness but a melody of longing and pain and it resonated with me like nothing ever had.

I felt it in my mind and I felt it in my soul.

It was me, calling out to myself, just from another form.

My consciousness turned around without my will, and a creature came into view; a creature darker than night and with eyes the color of blood.

It flew around me, encircling me, trying to catch my attention and when that had failed, it had sang its song, the haunting melody that had reverberated through my soul and had brought me back to the present.

My consciousness solidified in response and began to take shape. It condensed and grew smaller by the second until it was but a misshapen pebble; for that was what I saw myself as, an insignificant and ugly object that had no meaning and no existence.

"Cuuccoo… CUUccoo… CUUCCooo… CUUC **COOO…. CCUUCCCOOO!"** The bird called out again before landing softly before me.

It cocked its head to the side and then hopped closer quietly, as if trying not to spook a cornered animal.

Slowly, very slowly, and just as gently, it brought its head down. It rubbed its beak against my misshaped form, nudging me- to do what, I did not know.

Just as gently it had hopped closer; it brought its beak down and tilted its head even further as it tenderly touched me with its forehead.

There was a moment, followed by a change. A shift. And I felt myself transform. I felt the rough edges become smooth, the ugly formlessness take shape and the dull color become a lustrous white. And before I could comprehend what had happened, I felt my body float.

I was raised above the ground, by a force that was not my doing and one that I could not see. Yet, the ugly amusement birthed out of fear did not show its hideous face. The only thing that I knew was the majestic bird before me and how tender it had been with me. Like it had _**cared**_.

I continued to float up and up until I was at the eye level with the bird. It stared at me, just like it had been staring when I began to float. It straightened its head and I began to float towards the creature that had hijacked my attention and my being.

I floated towards it until I was but a hairbreadth away. I still continued to float towards it and then I pressed against the soft feather that adorned the skull of the creature. I hit the feathers and its skull, yet I continued to press against it.

The weirdest thing occurred in that moment. Instead of hurting the bird -something I had feared for- or hurting myself –that I had cared _not_ for- I began being absorbed into the bird.

I sank deeper and deeper into the bird's forehead until there was nothing but a small portion of me left un-submerged. And that was where it stopped.

As if it were a clue of some sort, the bird took flight at that very moment. And with it, my consciousness flew too while it crossed the distance in but an instant; the lawns and the castles flew by as if they weren't even there.

It landed on the shore of the giant lake and hopped closer to the water until its claws were sunken and water greeted its feathers. The bird cared not for it though and tilted its head down until its reflection mirrored across the still water.

What I saw, took my breath away.

Gone was the simple bird whose feathers were the color of the night and eyes of blood. In its place stood a creature whose feathers were the darkness of the void itself; nothing reflected off of it, not even light. Where one feather ended and the other began was impossible to tell and so was to tell anything about it except its shape.

That was not the only thing that had changed about the majestic bird. Its size had changed. Where earlier it had been the size of a human palm, now it rivaled a phoenix in comparison.

Its massive wingspan made itself known as the bird flapped its wings, to settle itself. Those simple wings had multiplied in length and when folded, they gave this darkness personified being an elegant shape. Its beak had curved and taken the shape of one that suited a bird of predator rather than a prey. Its talons had grown and claws were sharp enough to cut through leather.

But the most striking feature of this beautiful existence was its eyes and the jewel that adorned its forehead. The eyes that had been the color of blood had changed to crimson lily, dark, inviting and promising nothing but death. And above those eyes, was the white jewel that shone against the background of eternal darkness like a ray of hope at the end of a sinister and long tunnel.

"Cooee…Coooeee…CCooooeeee…CCCOOOEEEE… **CCCCOOOEEEE…** " the bird sang again. Its voice still as beautiful as ever and still as haunting as ever, as if it was longing for something that it could never have.

Though, its song didn't shatter me into thousands pieces. Instead, it healed me like a weapon being re-forged. It built me up from the thousands of pieces that I had broken myself into and made me anew.

Mystified as I was with its beauty, I still wanted to know what it was. _'Observe.'_

 **Ting.**

 **[Chakor. MP]**

 **[Lv: -]**

 **[HP: -]**

 **[MP: -]**

Its strongest attribute was its mana then. Yet, what it was, I did not know. Wanting to know everything that I could about this creature, I focused on the name of the species and used the skill again. That didn't result into anything though.

My eyes returned to its forehead and the beautiful gem adorning it. _'That is me.'_

It was. The beautiful gem that magnified the magnificence of this majestic being was me.

The gem glowed eerily as I felt giddiness take birth in my consciousness and the bird sang in response. A song of loneliness and finding someone that would ease that solitude.

A knot, of what- I didn't know, that I had in me, eased.

 **Ting.**

Like the flexing of a muscle and in but a moment, my concentration broke as I returned to the coldness of my body. Cold and soreness awaited me but they didn't get my attention; the notification that awaited me as I opened my eyes did though. It was a notification that I had long been waiting for.

 **[Skill {Animagus Lv.10} has leveled up to {Animagus Intermediate Lv.1}. Your search for the spiritual manifestation has been successful. Animagus form confirmed as Chakor. You are now able to partially transform into your animagus form. ]**

 **Ting.**

 **[New Race Acquired: Avian. Avian path is now available.]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Maximum Level of current Species detected. Evolution possible. Do you want to evolve now?]**

 **[YES NO]**

With a hungry grin plastered on my face, I stared at the window. It was all I had been waiting for and it was here! Finally here!

A laugh of a man mad bursted out of me in a roar and I confirmed, yes, I would evolve. I would evolve now!

 **Ting.**

 **[Chose your form.]**

 **[Koel Lv.1: Form that unlocked the Race.]**

 **[Chakor Lv.1: Forced form. Requirements not met. Unavailable.]**

[Pixie Lv.1: Final evolution passed over from the previous race(s).]

[Fairy Lv.1: Final evolution passed over from the previous race(s).]

The laughter of joy died out as soon as it had appeared and a malicious cackle took its place. 'What is this now? I can only evolve into …a Koel.'

Of the four options available to me, two were ones that I had already rejected while the Chakor one was inside a dull grayed out window, mocking me with its words and its color.

I would take whatever I could get though. I had achieved this with patience and pain, I would enjoy this fruit!

 **Ting.**

 **[You have chosen Koel as your evolution. Are you sure?]**

 **[YES NO]**

The unhinged laugh turned into a chuckle as thoughts continued to race within my mind. _'I have survived this far being an insect, I won't stop just because I wasn't given what I deserved! I will su_ _ **rvIVE!'**_

 **Ting.**

 **[Evolution will begin now.]**

The foreign power that always took control of me whenever I evolved, didn't fail to appear this time either. It forced me to make a cocoon out of my spit which solidified as I rotated.

No sooner had I finished making the coco-

 **Night 51**

I woke up to the muffled sound of screams and screeches echoing off in the distance; the noise reminiscent of the days when the drone was left unfed.

I tilted my head in confusion and hit something hard. _'Right. I evolved into a bird.'_

Pushing against the restrains of the shell, I hit the cocoon with my new found beak, breaking it away bit by bit. The drone continued to screech meanwhile, ruining the moment with its insistent need to eat. It could wait to eat for a few more moments though, for there were things that needed my immediate attention.

 **Ting.**

 **[Evolution completed. You have evolved into a Koel.]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Evolution bonuses of 50 HP and 50 MP have been added to your total Health Points and Mana Points respectively. You have been completely healed.]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Your base MP and HP regeneration have increased to +8HP/Hour and +20Mp/Hour.]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Level up Bonuses have increased from +2 points per level to +3 points per Level Up for both HP and MP. Both the bars have been adjusted for the change.]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Title gained: [Skin Changer]]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Title gained: [Unchained]]**

 **Ting.**

 **[Skill acquired: {Sing Lv.1}]**

' _Ooh new Titles and a skill!'_ I smiled with glee and with another thought, I focused on the first Title, **[Skin Changer]**.

 **Ting.**

 **[Granted to a being that has changed its Race. This Title makes it easier to gain more races in** **the** **future.]**

' _Something nice for a change, yes?'_ I hadn't expected that, honestly. A bit surprised, I moved onto the next Title, **[Unchained]**.

 **Ting.**

 **[You have unchained yourself from your past fate. Blessing of the Lost Fate, Unique Luck, revoked.]**

' _Now that was more like it.'_ I chuckled darkly. Nothing good had come out of these titles recently and this one was just another example. Quite contrary to that expectation, the skill gain had brought nothing but disappointment with it.

While, the Doxy evolution had given me skills that had became my lifeline, this evolution had bestowed me with just one skill and guessing from what my evolution was, I had an idea about what it may be. Not wasting any more time thinking about what it may be, I focused on the skill, **{Sing}**.

 **Ting.**

[ **Ability to bring life to your emotions.** ]

I tilted my head in confusion. _'What a weird descripti-'_

In a moment that didn't seem to exist, yet stretched for far too long, the impossible repeated itself. In that one moment the air stilled, the sounds died and the very earth came to life. In that one moment, nothing changed, however, everything had already changed.

I stumbled in confusion, not knowing what was going on, yet knowing that something was going on; something dangerous. I didn't have time to ponder on that realization and fell as the earth beneath my feet shifted as if it was _alive._

The floor continued to move, as if it was expanding under the power of a space expansion charm, while the walls collapsed on themselves and exploded. The roof, as if not wanting to be outdone, somehow maintained itself without any form of support to keep it there before it too shifted and curved in itself, creating a dome that expanded into the hard stone of the cliff.

The live stone, as if wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, began to fold over itself even faster than before. The speed of the shift continued to increase exponentially as I continued to fall, trip and stumble with its movement.

And as suddenly as it had started, it stopped; as if the world hadn't just gave way to a distortion in reality; the reality that was nowhere near to the one that had existed but a moment before.

Where earlier there had been a cavern barely large enough to hold a dozen doxies, now existed a hall large enough to dwarf the hall of any royal palace with its walls so far off that I would have to fly to reach there and a roof so high that I could fit a completely grown tree in here.

As if responding to my thoughts, nature took over the space that didn't exist but a moment before. Grass took root in solid rock, shrubs began to sprout and trees began to grow at a rate impossible to imagine. Where nothing had existed a moment before, now stood a maze of all kind of greenery imaginable.

The sound of life returned at that very moment with the chirping of insects, the calls of birds and the distant roars of various animals that hit me like a bubble popping; unexpected and sudden.

The mini ecosystem that had popped up in my home continued to shift and change. It swirled into itself as it created a small mound composed of plants, trees, dirt and animals that were all piled over each other. The space from where the life receded, new life took its place, creating a continuous process of birth that kept piling over itself.

The hill continued to grow and I continued to stumble, bruising myself all over my body. Though, in a moment where I was able to gain control over my balance, I took flight.

Before my eyes, the plants grew and were sucked into the hill and animals popped up only to be consumed by the growing hill. Nothing survived the onslaught of the gigantic mound that towered over me, nothing but me that is.

But that wasn't what had caught my attention. Instead I was mesmerized by the artwork happening in front of me.

The heap of plants, trees and animals had begun to take shape. Its base had divided itself into 4 different parts while its peak had begun to stretch. The mass of forest that it had consumed had moved from the base towards the summit as four powerful legs took shape.

The thickened summit had continued to stretch before tapering off towards the end, forming an elegant shape of a massive tail. More and more plants, trees and animals continued to pile up on the front side of the hill as it took the shape of a massive head.

I gaped in awe at the massive sculpture carving itself in front of me. The shape of the figure continued to refine itself as the plants moved from one spot to another, trees filled in places where gaps existed and animals formed the fur that moved and shifted.

And then it all stopped. It stopped leaving before me a creature that was a combination of all the living things combined. It was not a single existence but an entity formed of innumerable lives that existed within it.

It was an existence that chose the shape of a gigantic tiger to appear before me.

It existed like that for a moment before its massive eyes, made up of dead tree trunks and beautiful flowers, opened to stare at me. And with that single act, emotions that I hadn't felt since my rebirth made themselves known.

Respect for this existence, like I had not felt for anything or anyone before, struck me like a heart attack, painful and all consuming. Reverence that I hadn't even felt for magic exploded within me like a painful blast. Obedience that even my relatives hadn't been able to instill in me through all the years of abuse was birthed in me, kicking and screaming.

But the emotion that triumphed over all of those was the one that I had never felt before. It hit me like an inferno and consumed me like dry leaves; in all but an instant I was gone. It was the emotion of familial love. It was the emotion of a child's love for its mother.

Naturally, I defied it all.

A/N 3: If you want to know what the animagus form look like, then search Koel and imagine that like an eagle, but only dark like Vantablack.

A/N 4: Calls of the Koel:

*1st and 2nd call of the Koel.

watch?v=TcyKnF5FDmc

**3rd call of the Koel

watch?v=yHVSBf04LFY

Like it?

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Just review and let me know!

Go _Review!_

 **Now.**

P.S. Unbeta'ed but edited to the best of my ability.

Beta note: Well it's beta'ed now bois.


	21. Arc 3 - Salvation - Chapter 21

A/N: The Summary of the story has been changed. Please tell me what you think of it. That would be very much appreciated.

* * *

A/N: A chapter that is important from the Plot point of view. Hope you all like it and don't forget to comment!

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

" **For a castaway being, you have proven your worth child."** The existence, which was not merely a single organism but a composition of everything that existed within its existence, addressed a being that was but one of its part, a part that was lost with no hope.

It spoke with a voice that was heavy and deep, dwarfing any and all the sounds the lost one had ever heard before. It was like the clap of thunder, the breaking of a dam and the roar of a dragon all combined in one before being turned up a notch.

It was overpowering- shaking the foundation of everything that it hit. It was overwhelming- drowning any and all the senses that it reached. It was far reaching- unbound by the walls of reality that tried to restrict it. It was profound- carrying the weight of the existence that it originated from.

But above all of those things, it was soothing- tender like a lullaby sang on a dreadful night. " **Kill the bug of curiosity young one, Ask away. You have earned that much."**

The lost being that was but a speck of dust to the existence that loomed over it, hovered in air, unhesitant, yet cautious, in its approach towards the definition of majesty that had addressed it.

It defied all those things that were forced upon it by merely being in the presence of the existence far beyond its understanding. It defied the reverence. It defied the respect. It defied the obedience and it defied the love.

Yet it didn't do anything but hover where it did, not knowing how to proceed. Its caution born out of its will to live, to exist, even for but single moment more. It had fought to exist for every moment of its existence and it wanted to fight still. It wanted to live.

It opened its tiny mouth, shrieking; weather in either fright or warning, it didn't know itself. As cautious as it was, it was a monster still; a monster that was cornered and a monster that had emotions foreign to it forced on it. It was a monster afraid yet defiant.

" **Raise not your voice child, lest We take it away."** The existence far beyond that of the lost one, growled at the insolent thing that was its spawn. It growled to break the child of its madness, losing the gentleness that it had, only to replace it with the presence of a predator stalking its prey. " **You are a sentient still, not a mere creature of will. We made you that way. Fail Us not now when you just proved your worth."**

The lost individual recoiled as if slapped, its body shaking in fear yet its defiance stood. It had dared to challenge the chains that had bound its destiny and come out defiant. It knew not to be subservient. Yet caution still existed and that caution warned it to escape.

" **All that you know is Us fledgling. All that you are is Us. There exists no escape from Us."** The tiny creature stilled its movements while surprise morphed on its features, like a thief caught red handed. In that moment, as millions of thoughts raced through its mind, a single thought stood out amongst them all, _'Did this being just read my thoughts?!'_

" **Nothing is hidden from Us youngling, neither your thoughts, nor your actions. All is known to Us for they are Ours."** The majestic existence that chose to manifest itself in the form of a tiger, answered the unspoken thoughts of the lost existence, its voice –it it could be called that- slow as is it rumbled.

Fear like nothing it had ever felt before was born in that moment within the lost creature. Fear unlike the fear it had felt when it had soiled itself to survive; fear unlike the fear it had felt when it had faced enemies far beyond its capabilities in its last birth.

It was a fear that was all consuming, that spread through its bones and settled in its flesh like the numbing touch of the ice as one died. It was a fear that overwhelmed the senses and logic and became a welcome sight. _'Ju-just what are YOU!?'_

" **We are the land that you stand on. We are the air that you breathe. We are the bones that you are made of. We are the flesh that you eat. We are the big and the small and the tiny, the living and the dead alike. We are the things there were never alive and we are the things that have ever lived. We are each and everything that exist and we are still much more. We are The Wild."** The existence that surpassed the limit of reality declared, in a voice slow yet powerful, answering the single thought that had consumed the child before it.

The tiny creature, on the other hand, remained confused. It found little meaning in the words of the towering being as its mind was too overwhelmed with emotions that were not its own and the emotions that were its own. It was all too much for the little thing to process and comprehend.

The intruder, which altered the reality to manifest itself in a tiny crevice, frowned. **"Don't be slow child; use the brain that We let you keep. We are the manifestation of everything animate and inanimate, everything alive and dead."**

Understanding dawned on the creature that was now a bird. This was something that its overworked brain could comprehend. The existence that was before it, it was of a God. It was a God that had invaded its space. How was it supposed to **fIgHt** a FrEaKI **NG GOD!**

The thoughts of the tiny one caused amusement to dance across the face of the creature that chose to resemble a Tiger. **"We are no God young one. Bound we are to nothing but Our Will. Shaped we are by nothing but Our Will. The existence that transcends of mere God, that transcends reality, we are. Neither born nor created we were and neither shall We ever die. The Existence that has always existed and always will is what we are."**

The tiny one once again stilled in confusion. It was not a god? But it sounded like a god! And it sure felt like what it imagined a god would feel like! It mere presence had twisted its mind! Did it say it transcended a God! How was it supposed to survive this!

Amused by the rambles passing through the tiny one -a being that was but one of the unlimited extensions of its will- the godhood transcending entity decided to break the child out of the loop of emotions that it had trapped itself in. **"Calm down."**

Two words were all that escaped the mouth of existence that seemed impossible to exist; two words that brought clarity to mind of the newly born bird that it had not felt in its multiple lifetimes.

The tiny one felt the rambles die; it felt its emotion collect; it felt a coherent line of thought being born again and it felt its mind heal.

In the moment of clarity that followed, it settled down, realizing that the existence before it did not mean to harm it, for if the godhood transcending entity had wanted to do so, the tiny one would not have survived this long. This newfound lucidity left one question unanswered, _'Why was the Mother here?'_

" **The senses that We have gifted you child, use them and use them well. We don't suffer stupidity. Ask not what We have answered, for We are the most patient yet our patience runs thin."** The massive looming tiger made itself comfortable as it chose to lay down while warning the creature that had just changed its race.

The Black bird with eyes the color of blood, tilted its head in confusion. ' _Had the question already been answered?'_ It thought while trying to remember the moments consumed by insanity. _'Ah right. It's here to answer my questions.'_

But that brought up another question. Why was the Mother answering its question?

" **Your worth has been proven and for that we answer your questions child."**

' _My worth?'_

" **Yes, your worth hatchling. For a purpose we created you; for that purpose you were tested. And worthy you were judged."**

' _Judgment? Purpose? What is it talking about? Could it be….?'_ The newly born bird would have scowled if it could. Those words had triggered within it the memory of a time that it had long wanted to forget; a time when it had been used and abused for egos of the few. ' _No. I will not be a pawn_ _ **again**_ _.'_

' **Nothing but an extension of Us you are. Within the bounds of Our existence there exist the infinite, of them you are but one. Yet a pawn you are not young one, for there is no game; there is just Us and Our will."**

' _If I am not a pawn, then what am I? Why was I judged? Why was I created in the first place?'_

" **A purpose that needs to realized, was to be your Dharma, your duty. For it to be your Dharma, you were judged."**

All thoughts came to halt within the mind of the tiny one as it felt history repeat itself. Was it its fate again to be a chosen one? It _**did not**_ want that.

" **Kid not yourself child. Chosen one there is none. Hero there is none. Savior there is none. There is no one but Us. By the mercy of Luck you lived and by its pity you survived in the past. Luck that you threw away when you [Unchained] yourself."**

' _If I am not a pawn and I am not a chosen one, then what am I? What purpose did you want to impose on me?'_

" **We impose nothing hatchling. We are The Wild. We do not interfere, we do not dictate. We let nature take its course. The strong survive and the weak die, creating the result stronger than before. That is Our way for that is Our Will."**

' _Then what is this purpose that you created me for, this Dharma? Is it not what you want from me?_ _Something that I must do?'_

" **Nothing must be done child, for there is nothing that We want. Created for a purpose you were and for a purpose you were judged. Yet on you it rests, the will for your Dharma to manifest."**

' _What is this purpose that you created me for? The purpose that you keep hinting at?'_

" **Your Dharma is to become powerful, Our child. And it is to pass on that Strength. Your Dharma wills you to make Our children strong, stronger than they could be on their own."**

' _Why must I do so? Why is this my Dharma? What will I gain with this? Am I supposed to go around teaching just because you say so?!'_

The towering creature that dwarfed the a few hills with its size raised a massive eyebrow in answer, an eyebrow made up of twisting wines sprouting magnificent flowers and rotting bark. **"You may fulfill your Dharma. You may not if you choose so. The choice is yours fledgling. Your Dharma is the reason you were created for. You may choose to leave it unfulfilled with your existence meaningless, one amongst the infinite that exist within Us."**

The tiny being frowned, it was its choice? It could follow its will?

" **Indeed child. We are The Wild. We impose nothing. We ask nothing. We interfere in nothing. Our children decide their own fate. Our children make their own fate."**

' _I want nothing to do with anyone but me! I want nothing to do with you!'_

The being smiled in amusement. **"Already one of us you are, aren't you child? Already a monster you are. Having left your morality behind, accept what you are now, embrace what you are."**

' _Wh-! What are you talking about?!'_

" **You must have noticed fledgling. You are not what you used to be. You behave differently, you feel differently. You want not the things that you wanted once. You strive not for things you struggled for once."**

' _That was you! I thought I was losing my mind!'_

" **Make us not repeat ourselves child, we interfere not in anything. You changed yourself. Your soul that had once resided in the bod** **y** **of a human, learned to act like one. Your soul which now resides in the bod** **y** **of monster, learns to act like a monster now."**

' _I-I can't lose my morality. It is what keeps me sane!'_

" **Characteristic of Sentoids, morality is. Of sentient creatures that live in societies. Not of monsters, a creature that you are now. Realize it for the foolishness it is. You exist not in civilization, you need not morality."**

' _I-I can't. I will go insane! I will lose myself!'_

" **What is sanity, Our inexperienced child? And who are you?"** The creature, that boggled the limits of comprehension, retorted before answering its own questions. **"You are but your mind; a mind that is ever flowing and ever evolving much like a river running down its path. You grow and you change and you evolve. And where that evolution takes you, is for none but you to decide. There exists no sanity. There exists no insanity. You exist not in a society. Limit not yourself with its chains."**

The newly hatched bird wilted visibly as it flew down to land. _'…does this mean what I suspect is true?'_

" **You are a monster, Our child. You need no one to exist. Yet if you sought the company of others, its only one other sentient that your nature will allow you. One is existence, two is violence but three, remember Our offspring, begets nothing but Death."**

' _Why?'_

The immeasurable existence, which had shrank itself to manifest, pursed its maw; a maw made up of animal alive and dead, huge and small, writhing together in one. **"Our children, big and small and** **minuscule** **, live not in civilization of sentient creatures. For where societies exist, weak thrive while strong die. Artificial power becomes truth while real strength becomes a tool. That is not the way of Wild, the way of nature."**

' _But societies grow strong as a whole. Each member may not be strong but together the civilization is strong, it exists as an individual!'_

" **Within us the strong thrive and the weak die. Anything but that and it collapses on itself. Nothing attracts death like a huddle of sentient creatures protecting the weak. It's a weakness in itself; a weakness easily exploited."**

' _But wouldn't the numbers help a civilization survive? Surely the combined strength of the sentient beings would be more than the sum total of the individual strengths?'_

" **Wasn't there a time child, when you had numerous doxies under your command?"** The immeasurable existence asked instead, its head lying carelessly on its paws. **"Did you not get them killed?"**

' _I did not get them killed! They died because of my carelessness. Killing them was not my intention!'_

" **Delude not yourself hatchling."** It scolded the tiny existence that was less than a speck of dust to the being above it. **"The consequences of what you did were known to you. You lacked the care to do otherwise. Their existence, or death, meant not a thing to you."**

' _I…'_

" **That changed though, did it not child? When there was none but one left, you cared."**

'… _I…'_

" **That was the heritage of the monsters making itself known. A monster is an inherently selfish being child. It does not know care for anything and anyone but for itself and one of its progeny."**

' _Those were not my progeny! I am not a parent! Absolutely not!'_

" **Matters not what you consider them young one. For they are way that Species of monsters continue themselves. Monsters do not mate. Monsters make copies of themselves, flawed in way numerous to none, and mindless at first."**

' _But I was born amongst tens of hundreds of eggs!'_

" **And did you have any creature using you for its own purposes? A Sentient monster keeps only the first hatch for itself, for whatever purpose it wants to and the rest it discards. Unless, of course, the sentient monster exists as a hive."**

' _If it discards all the eggs but one, then why create so many eggs. What is the point?'_

" **Survival, young one, survival and nothing else. Its species must survive. And for that, it lays eggs innumerable. If even one survives, the species continue."**

The uncaring fate of the hundreds of young ones, born with little to their name, disturbed the tiny existence of the reincarnated one. _'That's cruel. Too cruel.'_

" **Wild is not cruel child. Nature is not cruel."** The being that was not One but many, remained unperturbed. The accusation failing to faze it. " **Wild just is. Nature just is."**

The newly hatched bird would have scoffed if its new body had allowed it to. _'I was rewarded for torture. Literally. I got a skill off of it!... It was you, wasn't it?'_

" **Foolish hatchling. The skill that you earned, the [Sadism], comes in play only after the prey has been killed. Not while its alive. It nudges you to kill your prey. Senseless violence benefits none."**

' _Oh.'_ Violence for strength it understood; it did that itself. Perhaps it were its monster sensibilities that made it understand or perhaps it was the loss of its human sentimentalities, whatever it was but violence for strength it now understood.

" **And yes, it is through Us that you gain Skills."**

The newly hatched chick, frowned in confusion. _'Why are skills, Skills? Why use mechanics of a game system for skills? Why not just let skills be skills?'_

The humongous entity thought for moment, seemingly deliberating whether or not to answer. **"It is a system that predates our emergence, which predates the creation of this planet and this universe itself. That is all you should know. Dig not deeper in this young one. Things, worse than your worst nightmares, exist where The Truth resides. Dwell not on this. Think not of this."**

The abrupt warning confused the tiny one; its survival instincts seemingly agreeing with the Contained Infinity before it. _'…okay.'_

It chose to follow the advice that was more of an order and asked what had been bothering it for a long time. ' _Then answer me this, why can't I see my stats?'_

" **They are not meant for you to use or change hatchling. Their existence is of no importance to you. You are a monster, an extension of Us. You live through skills."**

' _Then why are they even mentioned in my status?'_ Reiterated the confused existence of the Lost One.

" **They are the result of the system predating Us. We are not the only beings that exist through the system. The other existences exist through it too. They are beings that are the creature of numbers rather than Skills, the Sentoids. They live of numbers and they die of numbers."**

' _Does this mean that don't have any Skills?'_

" **Nay, young one. Skills they do posses but meager in number. Our children evolve and better themselves, they do not. Our children learn Skills innumerable, they do not. Our children learn new Skills with each evolution, they do not. Our children can reach immortality, they do not."**

' _Immortality!?'_

 **The being that not One but many, laughed. "Immortality, yes Our child. Our children, unless killed, exist and evolve and continue to exist. And when evolution fails them, they do what you did. They change. Or they die."**

' _Oh. Wow.'_

" **Yet Our children are not without their limits. To balance what we gave, we took away some things. We took away the ability to exist in a society of Sentients. We took away the ability to mold your own growth. And we took away the ability to learn elemental spells. The little Gods sought the opposite."**

'… _Little Gods?'_ An apprehensive fledgling asked. Since when were Gods little? Since when were Gods insignificant?

" **Yes, Gods, the little things that exist through Sentoids and that are molded by Sentoids. Not even the shadow of the remnant of what once was."**

'… _.'_ The contempt and condescension of the Contained Infinity above it, gave the child pause. The way that the being -though which the tiny being existed- talked about Gods, made it wonder about just how powerful this reality transcending existence was?

Unable to comprehend the line of thought, it asked what had been bothering it since this conversation had started. _'These sentoids…they-are they humans?'_

" **All the sentient beings that live in a civilization, they are Sentoids. The Humans, the Harpies, the Gnomes and numerous others that we bother not with. They are not a part of us."**

' _They aren't a part of you? I thought you were the spirit of Earth?'_

" **The foolishness? Didn't We let you keep your mind fledgling? Are you proving Us wrong?"** The incomprehensible entity seemed to scowl.

" **We know not what Earth is but we are not its spirit. We are not anything's spirit. We are The Wild. We are not its spirit. We exist through every bit of land that exists on this continent, every drop of water that covers the plates of this continent and every gust of wind that traverses them."**

With its face, which was made of twisting bodies of creatures unknown and numerous, scrunched in distaste it continued. **"Sentoids are not an extension of Us, Our child. Those children, the ones that killed their creators and reversed the order of existence, are not Ours."**

' _Creators can be killed?!'_

" **The ones that could be, were. By creations they were warned about; a warning that they did not heed. The ones that could never be, Our existence is infinite."**

' _Okay-okay.'_ The child seemed to process the revelation with some difficulty. It was understandable though, this tiny being had found out that not only Gods existed but so did entities that transcended the previously mentioned beings. Yet, it had learned more. It learned not only Gods could die but many had already been killed.

It took a few moments for the insignificant being to get his thought process back on track. And when it did, one particular bit caught its attention. _'You said continent. Does this mean that there is no civilization on this continent? No humans? No Sentoids?'_

" **None exist yet, hatchling. Though not for long hatchling it will be true. Sentoids have consumed the rest of this world. Only we remain untouched, defended by our children. But not for long. Soon, very soon, they will be here. Threatening Our children. For this, for this you were born. This is your Dharma."**

'… _but, you said my Dharma was to become strong and spreading that knowledge.'_

" **Indeed. Your Dharma is to ensure that no civilization takes hold in us. It is to ensure the death of every society before it could take root. It is to burn off the wound before it festers. To fulfill your Dharma, you need to be strong, stronger than anything and everything else that resides within Us and to pass down your power. Your students are to fulfill the deed. You are to ensure they succeed."**

' _Uh…When will these Sentoids arrive?'_

" **Soon, too soon, perhaps even in the next few millenniums or even Centuries, fleets after fleets of Sentoids will land on our shores, killing Our children. They will ravage the lands and kill the waters. Nothing will survive of Our children. To save Our Children and to save Yourself, is your Dharma."**

' _A few_ _MILLENNIUMS_ _!'_ The newly hatched chick almost face palmed. This being before it had addressed millenniums as if it was a year or two.

The Creature that was not One but many frowned at the outburst. **"Or centuries. We can't tell. Many ships have previously come ashore, scouting, none returned. Our children made sure of that. Though grow not complacent child. This time is not long. It is but a few passing moments in Our existence. It is but the length of a flower bloom."**

'… _this is all nice and good. But why must I do this? Why must I drive off humans?'_

" **Kill. Your Dharma is to kill them all the Sentoids and not just humans. It is to leave none alive. It is not to drive them off. Persistent little creatures these are, these Sentoids."**

' _The question still remains. Why? Why must I do this? Why must I be part of this genocide?'_

" **To fulfill your Dharma, young one. You may turn your back on your Dharma and not move even a finger for the cause. Or you can follow the path and give yourself a purpose. Is it not what you lack? A purpose? A reason to exist? Your Dharma would give you purpose, a reason to exist, to live other than just to see another day. Is that not what you seek?"**

' _I…'_ The bird stumbled as if stuck. Was this not what it had lacked? Was this not what it had wanted? A purpose. Just 2 words. Yet the whole argument had changed. Had it not wanted to live? Had it not wanted to more than just exist? Had it not wanted to live and not merely exist?

" **If you follow the path laid out for you, if you give yourself to it, nothing shall stand before you. You shall achieve all you can; you shall become all that can, the very best you can. All of it and much more shall be within your grasp, if and only if you choose to fulfill your duty, your Dharma.**

Here was this being, a being that transcended Godhood and transcended reality, offering it what it lacked, what it had wanted ever since it had been reborn? Yet it offered more. It offered the child the capability, the strength, to fulfill the desire that every living creature had, to be the very best it can be. What was it to do? Was it to reject it all? Was it to accept all of it?

Yet, to live for this purpose? To kill?

" **Your worry is insignificant, Our inexperienced child. The ones that reach our shores are already dead; they just lack the knowledge of it. They may be breathing but there exist no future for them. They will not leave Our shores, Our waters. If it not through your Karma, your deeds, that they'd die, they will die through Karma of others. Die they will, that much is certain."** The Mother of Monsters replied to the unvoiced thoughts.

" **The question just remains, will it be other's Karma, their deeds, through which they die while you become a meaningless existence like infinite others? Or Will it be your Karma, your deeds, which would greet the arrivals with their deaths as you become an unreachable existence with meaning and purpose? Which will you chose child? What will your decision be?"**

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A/N: This story will now be Beta'ed! Yay! Thank you OMNIDEUS for the amazing work and graciousness!

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